Because You’re Mine

Single mother Lee, the protagonist of this gut-wrenching mystery from Frey (Not Her Daughter), works out of her Nashville home as a hair stylist. Her protective relationship with her seven-year-old son, Mason, who suffers from a sensory processing disorder, borders on obsessive. Over time, she has become friendly with three other playground mothers. The one she’s closest to, Grace Childress, introduces her to Noah Banks, an occupational therapist, who begins homeschooling Mason, thereby becoming indispensable to both Lee and Mason. When a girls-only weekend is planned, Lee wrestles with leaving Mason, something she has never done. Noah and her friends persuade her that Mason will be fine with Noah and that the time apart will help Mason become more independent. High hopes for the weekend go unfulfilled when someone dies. After Lee and Grace lay bare secrets that tear apart the lives of themselves and others, the action hurtles toward a heartbreaking and unexpected ending. Fans of psychological family dramas will find this impossible to put down. Agent: Rachel Beck, Holloway Literary. (Aug.)