An unsettling late-night experience on the rural roads of Vermont leaves an already unstable copy editor, Tess Waters, shaken and shattered. Her crumbling marriage, as well as her failed fertility treatments and a disastrous adoption attempt, are at the root of her suffering, but when Tess witnesses a young child walk onto the road, then disappear into the woods, she begins doubting her sanity. Driven to find this child, Tess reports the incident to the local police, who mount a search. However, no child is found, nor are there any reports of a missing girl. Is Tess's imagination playing tricks on her again? VERDICT Greenwood's fascinating tenth novel (after The Forever Bridge) is sure to have readers riveted, as a distraught Tess struggles to learn the truth.—Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

Eight years ago Tess Waters, a freelance copy editor, underwent a traumatic experience adopting a child from Guatemala, which is played out in Greenwood's novel in italicized chapters through flashbacks. Everyone thought she had lost her mind, but she knew better. Now visiting friends in Vermont, she is the only one to see a child wander across the road and disappear into the dense woods. But after the townspeople and authorities rally to find her, days go by without a clue or even a missing person report, and public opinion shifts to suspicion and doubt. Can Tess's strained marriage stand the stress of her sighting of the disappeared child, which reminds her and her husband of their earlier disturbing adoption? Or did the years of emotional pain conspire against her and cause an illusion? In her determined search for the little girl she saw, Tess fights to redeem her own brokenness. Greenwood (Two Rivers) crafts believable relationships with searing, heartbreaking realism. Showcasing the power of friendship and of hope, this mysterious, suspenseful exploration of the human psyche will keep readers turning pages and losing sleep. (Mar.)