The House on Buzzards Bay

CrimeReads editor-in-chief Murphy (The Stolen Coast) charts the complex relationships between a group of longtime friends in this masterful psychological thriller. After attorney Jim inherited his family’s beach house in southeastern Massachusetts, he made it a summer retreat for his four closest college friends and nicknamed it the Nanumett Sand and Swim Club. In recent years, the group has drifted apart, but Jim and his new wife, Valentina, have decided to reunite the crew, who are all at new phases of their lives: Bruce is a bestselling novelist; Rami a diplomat; Maya an art teacher; and her partner, Shannon, an expectant mother. Though the reunion begins well, things take a turn when Bruce chides Jim for bad parenting, causing the pair to get into a physical confrontation. The next day, Bruce disappears. Ties between the group unravel further when a woman named Camille arrives, claiming Bruce invited her. Eventually, somebody winds up dead. Murphy takes time to flesh out each of his main characters before executing a series of dizzying rug pulls. It’s a devilish twist on the traditional locked-room mystery. Agent: Duval Osteen, UTA. (June)