La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.
This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World—and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something—her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
The last time I saw my best friend, she called a pathetic liar and then she punched me in the mouth. The shock of it almost kept me from feeling anything until it was over. And I had no idea what Elora was thinking in that last moment. Because she didn't say anything. And I'm not a mind reader.
Honey is. My mother was. I guess. All the women in my family, right up to me.
But not me.
I'm thinking of that night last summer as I stand on the front porch of the Mystic Rose and stare at Elora's missing poster, trying to catch my breath. I'm wondering why they chose that picture. The one with her eyes half-closed. She hated that picture.
Jesus.
She hates that picture.
I've been steeling myself for this moment since i got that phone call back in February. Trying to imagine what it would be like to come home and step off the boat into a La Cachette without Elora. And I knew it would be bad. But I hadn't been prepared for the poster.
The words MISSING GIRL printed in red caps.
The sheriff's phone number.
My chest tightens. I drop my backpack to sink down and sit on the front steps so I can pull myself together. Clear my head of that weird flash that hit me out of nowhere.
Elora running from someone.
Being chased through the rain.
Swallowed up by the dark.
A few seconds to shake off that terror. Her terror. That's all I need. Then surely I'll be able to breathe again.
The screen door slams, and I hear footsteps on the porch behind me. It's Evie. "Hey, Grey".
