Nowhere Like Home: A Novel

by Sara Shepard

Overview

"Twisted friendships, toxic pasts and tangled motives—this is Sara Shepard doing what she does best!"—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars Sara Shepard's next adult novel follows a group of mothers living in a mysterious “mommune,” each of whom is running from something

When Lenna gets a call from her old friend Rhiannon, she is startled; Rhiannon disappeared years ago without a trace. But Lenna is even more startled to learn that Rhiannon has a son and that she lives off the grid with a group of women in a community called Halcyon. Rhiannon invites Lenna, a new mother herself, to join them. Why suffer the sleepless nights by yourself? It takes a village, after all.

Lenna decides to go and hopefully repair her relationship with Rhiannon, but as she drives into the desert and her cell service gets weaker, she becomes suspicious. Who are these women and why did Rhiannon invite her here? And that is before she learns about the community's rules (no outside phone calls, no questions about people’s pasts) and the padlock on the gate that leads out to the main road. But Lenna has other concerns, secrets from her past she is terrified will come out. When a newcomer arrives in the community, Lenna’s worst fears are confirmed—she was brought here for a reason.

Nowhere Like Home tackles themes of complicated friendships and trauma but all with Sara Shepard’s expert twists that you don’t see coming.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593186961
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	65,912
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Sara Shepard is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series, the Lying Game series, The Heiresses, The Elizas, the Perfectionists series, Reputation, and Safe in My Arms.

Editorial Reviews

01/15/2024

An exhausted new mother joins a sinister commune in the disappointing latest from Shepard (the Pretty Little Liars series). Ever since she gave birth to her son, Jacob, Lenna has been struggling with her lack of friends and feeling unsupported emotionally by her husband, Daniel. So she’s especially receptive when she gets a call from her long-ago friend, Rhiannon, who meets Lenna at a café and invites her to Halcyon, an idyllic “mommune” in the Arizona desert. According to Rhiannon, the remote compound, founded by the enigmatic Marjorie, houses women like Lenna, providing them with refuge and friendship in the early stages of motherhood. Soon, however, Lenna discovers that Halcyon is hardly the Eden of sisterly support she’s been led to believe. Secrets abound, many of the women aren’t able to leave, and one resident turns out to be a revenge-bent figure from Lenna and Rhiannon’s past. While Shepard manages a few stretches of tantalizing suspense, the narrative’s slow start and rocky finish prove too much to overcome. This is far from the author’s best. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Twisted friendships, toxic pasts and tangled motives—this is Sara Shepard doing what she does best!"
—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author

"Nowhere Like Home is a wild, fast-paced ride through toxic friendships and new motherhood—and questionable choices involving both. Sara Shepard's latest thriller features an expertly crafted plot, an immersive and sinister desert setting, and a series of jaw-dropping twists, each more shocking than the last."
—Carola Lovering, bestselling author of Tell Me Lies and Bye, Baby

“In true Pretty Little Liars fashion, there are several twists and turns that readers won’t see coming . . . A fun, unpredictable, and daring read.”
—Booklist

"Plenty of twists and turns, as well as some staggered narration—different voices, different time periods—keep the mystery moving...Fans of Shepard’s other books will be pleased." 
—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2024-01-05
Lenna Schmidt arrives with her baby, Jacob, at a “mommune” outside Tucson, where she’s trying to reconnect with an old friend. Little does she suspect that someone pulled strings to get her there.

Two years ago, out of the blue, Lenna struck up a deep friendship with Rhiannon Cook, whom she met at an H&M store in Los Angeles. Mourning the loss of her mother, with whom she was incredibly close, Lenna hasn’t had many friends in her life. Rhiannon can be judgmental, particularly toward Gillian, a woman who hangs around the building where they all work, and Frederick, a co-worker on whom Lenna has a crush. But it turns out her life hasn’t always been easy; she tells Lenna that when she was young, her mother drove off a bridge with both her and her brother in the car, and her brother died. One day, Rhiannon skips town, leaving Lenna high and dry; in the radio silence that follows, Lenna begins to be friendly with Gillian, who has some pretty choice things to say about Rhiannon and, really, everyone else, including her roommate, Sadie. Now, two years later, Lenna has a secret—plus a husband, and a new baby—so when Rhiannon reaches out to see if she might want to visit the all-woman commune where she lives, Lenna agrees, hoping they might be able to clear the air. But what is supposed to be a sanctuary hides a malevolent presence from the past—someone hellbent on revenge. Lenna has to summon stores of courage and protective mother energy if she’s going to survive. Plenty of twists and turns, as well as some staggered narration—different voices, different time periods—keep the mystery moving. The payoff is okay. The thrills are fine. The deepest insight Shepard has to offer comes at the end: “All these missed chances, all these mistakes. It’s amazing people invest in friendship at all.”

Fans of Shepard’s other books will be pleased.

Kirkus Reviews