The dead girl in 2A : a novel

Format:

Book

Title:

The dead girl in 2A : a novel

Author:

Wilson, Carter (Novelist) author

ISBN:

9781492686033

Publication:

Naperville, Illinois : Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, [2019]

Physical Description:

406 pages ; 22 cm

Summary:

"Jake Buchanan is a successful writer with an eight-year-old daughter and an imploding marriage. When he gets on a plane and discovers an instant connection with seatmate Clara Stowe, he's delighted. But when Clara confesses that she's going to Colorado to kill herself, Jake searches frantically for a way to convince her not to go through with her plan. The Dead Girl in 2A is the story of what happens to Jake and Clara after they get off that plane and the manipulative figure from their childhoods that has brought them together decades later. Intensely creepy, beautifully written, and full of Carter Wilson's signature whom-can-you-trust paranoia, this is a psychological thriller unlike any you've read before."--Publisher description.

Subject(s):

Authors -- Fiction.

Marital conflict -- Fiction.

Suicidal behavior -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Genre:

Psychological fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	FIC WILSON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	Wilson, C.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

From USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson comes a psychological thriller about forgotten strangers, dark pasts, and a secret so big it just might destroy everything.

They meet on a plane, but nothing about this situation is coincidental... This flight will take them somewhere they never expected to go

Jack Buchannan knows the woman sitting next to him on his business flight to Denver--he just can't figure out how he knows her. Clara Stowe isn't in Jake's line of work and didn't go to college with him. They have nearly nothing in common apart from a deep and shared certainty that they've met before. As their airplane conversation deepens, both struggle to figure out what circumstances could have possibly brought them together. Then, in a revelation that sends Jake reeling, Clara admits she's traveling to the Colorado mountains to kill herself, and she disappears into the crowded airport immediately after landing. Though Clara is gone, Jake is determined to track the girl in the city and figure out their connection.

The Dead Girl in 2A is the story of what happens to Jake and Clara after they get off that plane, and the manipulative figure, a two-dimensional man who has brought them together decades after they first met. Intensely creepy, beautifully written, and full of Carter Wilson's signature whom-can-you-trust paranoia, this is a psychological thriller unlike any you've read before.

When two strangers discover they're connected in ways they could never have imagined, what ensues is a mind-bending race to the truth. This taut, riveting psychological thriller from the award-winning and bestselling author Carter Wilson will leave you reeling.

Named one of the best mysteries and thrillers of 2018, The Dead Girl in 2A is:

Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and AJ Finn For readers who enjoy who-can-you-trust mysteries and psychological thrillers

Author Notes

Carter Wilson is the USA Today bestselling author of eight critically acclaimed, standalone psychological thrillers. He is an ITW Thriller Award finalist, a five-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, and his works have been optioned for television and film. Carter lives outside of Boulder, Colorado.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

On a flight to Denver, Boston freelance writer Jake Buchannan recognizes his seatmate, Clara Stowe, but he can't remember from where, in this gripping standalone from Wilson (Mister Tender's Girl). As Jake tries to figure out the connection, he bonds with Clara over the fact that the two otherwise healthy 30-something-year-olds are suffering from memory loss. Then Clara confides that she plans to head up to the Aspen area and kill herself. Jake is unable to persuade her to change her mind, and she disappears after landing. It later becomes clear that their reunion was no coincidence. Alternating between Jake's viewpoint and Clara's diary, the multifaceted plot reveals that a year earlier, in Boston, both of them began participating in a memory research clinical trial led by a seedy man named Landis. Jake resolves to learn the truth about Landis's scheme and save Clara from her fate. Wilson provides plenty of creepy and downright disturbing moments on the way to the unexpectedly heartfelt conclusion. Psychological thriller fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Pamela Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

A troubled ghostwriter's past may be the key to an explosive secret.Life hasn't been the same for Jake Buchannan since the accident that seriously injured his 8-year-old daughter, Em, and drove a wedge between him and his wife, Abby. Jake just hopes that his new job writing the memoirs of a mysterious and wealthy Colorado man will at least ensure they can pay for Em's medical bills. When he meets former teacher Clara Stowe on his flight to Denver, he's instantly drawn to her. Small talk turns to something more profound when Clara reveals that she plans to kill herself at the site of two mountain peaks, Aspen's Maroon Bells. And that's not all. Clara was adopted as a child, as was Jake, and neither can remember their childhoods before they were adopted. It's enough to convince Jake that they've met for a reason, and he implores Clara to contact him if she needs him. Through alternating narratives, it's revealed that Clara and Jake were both invited by a mysterious man named Landis to take part in a clinical trial designed to help them unlock memories and meet their full potential. Both were given an evocative, illustrated book and a vial of pills and have gone through various changes in the months since, such as heightened empathy for Jake and Clara's self-imposed isolation and fascination with death. When Jake is approached by a woman claiming that Landis isn't quite what he seems, he finds himself in a relentless quest for the truth that just might kill him. Wilson (Mr. Tender's Girl, 2018, etc.) explores how good intentions and hubris can lead down dark paths while tackling themes of sorrow, guilt, and the intoxicating power of memory and human connection with equal aplomb. He even throws in a murder mystery for good measure and delivers a denouement that is both strangely sad and exceedingly creepy. Dean Koontz fans in particular will find a lot to enjoy.A disturbing, propulsive, and satisfying thriller. Wilson is an author to watch. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Plagued by memory loss and mood swings, writer Jake Buchannan is looking for his life to improve. Feeling guilty for having caused the car accident that injured his eight-year-old daughter and sad at having moved out of his house, he's hopeful that his new contract, writing a memoir for a Denver man, will help financially and otherwise. Then, on a plane from Boston, he senses a connection to his seatmate, Clara Stowe, the woman in 2A. They share some history, finding remarkable similarities, before she tells him she's going to the mountains near Denver to die. What happens next revolves around Jake and Clara, both orphaned young and unable to remember their childhoods except for a bloody dual-murder scene, being lured into a memory study involving unique picture books and mysterious pills. Wilson's forte is graphic horror, but here he edges toward the spooky. Readers of his popular Mister Tender's Girl (2018) will be intrigued by this exploration of how scientific experimentation intended to help individuals to achieve their full potential goes awry, leaving a trail of bodies and few survivors behind.--Michele Leber Copyright 2019 Booklist