A Place to Land

A small Alabama town confronts a decades-old secret in the atmospheric latest from Denton (The One You’re With). Sisters Violet and Trudy Figg have lived in the sleepy town of Sugar Bend since they were born, and now in their later years, they enjoy a quiet life running an arts and crafts store. However, their idyllic lives belie their troubled past: the mother who left when the sisters were in high school, the abusive father who died in a drunk driving accident, and Trudy’s brief marriage to Jay Malone, the charismatic owner of an ice cream store franchise who abused Trudy. Jay vanished in the early 1980s, and Trudy hasn’t spoken a word since for reasons she’s never explained, communicating only through written notes. Then the boat that Jay was last seen in washes up on a riverbank and the mystery of Jay’s fate piques the interest of a journalist and police offer, whose investigations threaten to dredge up an acrimonious past. Denton masterfully paces this slow-burn mystery and vividly renders the dark undercurrent of small-town life, exemplified in the residents’ unwillingness to believe that beloved local celebrity Jay was abusive. This thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats. (Oct.)