Novelist Tess Gerritsen’s neighbors are retired spies. So she wrote about it.

For fans of reunited friend groups, mysterious past deaths, secrets coming out, and remote mysteries set in New Zealand!

Nine years ago, Bea died by suicide. Now, her sister and Bea’s friend group have reunited in a crumbling estate in the New Zealand Alps. Luna, however, has partially accepted the invitation in order to demand Bea’s sister tell her what really happened and why she chose to cremate Bea’s body instead of allowing her friend a proper goodbye. Luna is already going into this reunion dealing with personal issues, including losing her sight and trying to follow her doctor’s advice of accepting what is happening in order to live a full life. Upon arriving at the reunion, her animosity toward Bea’s sister and her paranoia start to crank up when accidents start occurring and people start dying…

If you do audio and can keep track of a full cast of characters, I really enjoyed Saskia Maarleveld’s voice and narration.

(TW main mystery assumed suicide, mentions method/ brief mention past self-harm, suicide attempt/ brief mention rumor of pedophile, no details/ drugging without permission/ ableism)

For fans of history and true crime, not focused on serial killers!

Nothing exists in a vacuum, so while the crime of this book is alligator poaching, that’s not the only thing this book is about. You also are immersed in the Florida Everglades and its history, power, and politics; get bits of Renner’s life; meet the recruited Florida Fish and Wildlife officer tasked with investigating alligator poaching; and take a dive into learning the man vs the myth of Peg Brown — known as an alligator poaching legend.