Whidbey

The propulsive debut novel from Madden, author of the memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, explores the aftermath of child sexual abuse. In summer 2013, former reality TV star Linzie King publishes a memoir, written by a ghostwriter, detailing how Calvin Boyer, the 25-year-old son of her school bus driver, molested her when she was 13. Linzie’s book contains stories of Calvin’s other victims—including Birdie Chang, whom he abused at 17 when Birdie was nine. With the book attracting media scrutiny, Birdie leaves the Brooklyn apartment she shares with her girlfriend, Trace, for a digital detox on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. On the ferry to Whidbey, she meets an enigmatic man who presses her to explain her trip. She tells him about Calvin, and he offers to kill him. Meanwhile, on tour for her book, Linzie grapples with how her ghostwriter, Yale, spun her trauma into a marketable tale by flattening Calvin into a monster and portraying Linzie as purely resilient. The truth, which Madden slowly untangles, is more complicated. The novel takes a turn when Calvin’s mother, Mary-Beth, who viciously defended him over the course of multiple criminal trials, learns he has been murdered. As the mystery unfolds, each woman reckons with the void left by Calvin, culminating in a dynamic, twist-filled third act. Fueled by biting observations and empathetic characterizations, Madden’s novel reveals how the nuances of sexual trauma are often dismissed in favor of commodified narratives that flatten both victims and abusers, perpetuating a system that fails to protect survivors. This is unforgettable. Agent: Jin Auh, Wylie Agency. (Mar.)