cover image He Will Be My Ruin

He Will Be My Ruin

K.A. Tucker. Atria, $25 (352p) ISBN 978-1-5011-1207-2

Tucker (Ten Tiny Breaths) makes her hardcover debut with a nail-biting thriller. Well-to-do Maggie Sparkes, who has just returned to New York City from helping villagers in Ethiopia, has her doubts that the cause of death for a dear childhood friend, Celine Gonzalez, was suicide. Maggie is convinced that Celine would never cause pain to Rosa, Celine’s mother, who once worked for Maggie’s mother as a housekeeper. While packing up Celine’s Lower East Side apartment, Maggie finds nearly $10,000 in cash and other evidence suggesting that Celine was not the person Maggie thought she was. Diaries that Celine filled out daily since she was 13 are mysteriously missing entries for the last three months of her life. Determined to uncover the truth behind Celine’s death, Maggie hires a detective, but she can’t help insinuating herself into the investigation. The clever twists and turns will keep readers in suspense, and just when they think they have figured out what happened to Celine, the story veers in another direction. Agent: Stacey Donaghy, Donaghy Literary Group. (Feb.)