Backstabbers

In Jabore’s exceptional debut, friends Jade Edelman, Zoe Burroughs, and Stefanie Alcott hike the infamous Bones Hollow Trail in Olympic National Park, shadowed by the legend of the Bones Hollow Hunter, a serial killer who terrorized the trail in recent years. True crime–obsessed Zoe and easygoing Stefanie drag the cautious Jade into their adventure, but the trip goes awry when Stef gets injured en route to a remote waterfall, and the women become stranded with dwindling supplies. They’re forced to shelter at a nearby cabin owned by Jeremiah, a loner whose blend of menace and folksy charm keeps the women on edge. Tension rises as Zoe and Stefanie snoop through Jeremiah’s belongings and find women’s jewelry, stoking fears he might be the Bones Hollow Hunter himself. As the women’s suspicions mount, their bonds start to fray. Jade’s terror peaks when Jeremiah offers to show them his latest “catch” in the kitchen, leading to a grisly reveal and an abrupt, violent turn that reshapes the narrative. Jabore keeps the intensity at a fever pitch throughout, balancing raw terror with the more subtly haunting collapse of long-standing friendships. Readers will be on tenterhooks from the first page to the finale. Agent: Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (June)