Such Sheltered Lives

The atmospheric adult debut from YA author Sheinmel (the Umbrella Academy series) finds a young woman reinvestigating her rock star mother’s mysterious death. Amelia Blue Harris needs help battling her lifelong eating disorder, but what she really craves are answers—which is why, nearly 10 years after her mother, Georgia Blue, died upon checking out of an exclusive New York rehab facility, Amelia decides to check in to the same one. She flies from Los Angeles to remote Shelter Island, N.Y., where a colorful cast of fellow “guests” reside, including Lord Edward, a notorious British tabloid fixture, and Flo, an over-the-hill bad-girl rocker (and widow of an even more famous musician) who’s hiding out until the dust settles from her viral spat with a younger star. With Edward’s help, Amelia tries to outfox the facility’s sinister “care managers” to learn how Georgia came to check herself out of rehab, apparently clean, only to be discovered dead on the beach the following morning. The plot employs some shrewd sleight of hand to keep the pages turning, but keen readers will be able to suss out the biggest twists sooner than Sheinmel intends. Still, this polished chiller shows promise. Agents: Pete Knapp and Stuti Telidevara, Park & Fine Literary. (Jan.)