The Quiet Girl

by S. F. Kosa

Overview

"Dueling narratives propel this stunning psychological suspense...Hitchcock fans won't want to miss this nuanced, multilayered novel."—Publishers Weekly

A captivating tour de force untangling trauma, memory, and the justice we serve when everyone else has turned a blind eye.

Good girls keep quiet. But quiet girls can't stay silent forever—and the consequences are sure to make some noise.

When Alex arrives in Provincetown to patch things up with his new wife, Mina, he finds an empty wine glass in the sink, her wedding ring on the desk, and a string of questions in her wake. The police believe that Mina, a successful romance author, simply left, their marriage crumbling before it truly began.

But what Alex finds in their empty cottage points him toward a different reality: Mina has always carried a secret. And now she's disappeared.

In his hunt for the truth, Alex comes across Layla, a young woman with information to share, who may hold the key to everything his wife has kept hidden. A strange, quiet girl whose missing memories may break them all.

To find his missing wife, Alex must face what Layla has forgotten. And the consequences are anything but quiet.

In her debut thriller, S.F. Kosa presents a tightly-woven book sure to inspire questions about trauma, memory, and how well we ever know the people we love.

"Prepare to be enthralled—The Quiet Girl will grab your emotions and then hang on with a death grip. Atmospheric and twisty enough to deliver whiplash, S.F Kosa writes with a keen eye for detail and surprise endings. A compelling narrative that hums with momentum long after the reader is done."—Maureen Joyce Connolly, author of Little Lovely Things

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728215563
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	454,560
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

S.F. Kosa is a clinical psychologist with a fascination for the seedy underbelly of the human psyche. Though The Quiet Girl is her debut psychological suspense novel, writing as Sarah Fine, she is the author of over two dozen fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, and romance novels, several of which have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their (blended) brood of five young humans.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/15/2020

Dueling narratives propel this stunning psychological suspense debut from Kosa (the Immortal Dealers fantasy series). When struggling entrepreneur Alex Zarabian meets novelist Mina Richards at a book signing, it’s love at first sight. The two marry six months later, and settle in Provincetown, Mass. Following a tiff about starting a family, Alex returns home to find his wife gone, and later reports her missing. When the police begin asking questions about Mina’s friends and family, he realizes that he knows practically nothing about her past. Chapters from Mina’s unpublished novel, which describe the frightening experiences of a woman suffering from memory loss and facing a murderer, alternate with sections headed by dates that follow Alex’s movements as he tries to understand who his wife really is and what’s become of her. He, too, is set to confront a murderer. Kosa, a clinical psychologist, does a masterly job of weaving together these two versions of reality. Readers will wonder what elements in Mina’s account truly reflect the people and events in her life. Interpretations of Alex’s experience shift with each new chapter from her book. Hitchcock fans won’t want to miss this nuanced, multilayered novel. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"A cunningly constructed thriller that’s as twisted as it is heartbreaking... Kosa writes sensitively of trauma without sugarcoating the aftereffects in this page-turning domestic thriller of the secrets we keep quiet in order to protect the ones we love." — Criminal Element

"The Quiet Girl is brimming with twists and turns from the first page to the last. It's a story that will keep you reading well past your bedtime as you try to unravel truth from fiction in this clever novel. Chilling and shocking, The Quiet Girl is sure to stick with you even after the last page has been turned." — Gina LaManna, author of Pretty Guilty Women

"A page-turning thriller with well-written, complex characters and several twists and surprises that will not disappoint readers of the genre." — Booklist

"S.F. Kosa's The Quiet Girl is the rare thriller where a husband isn't the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance." — POPSUGAR

"Dueling narratives propel this stunning psychological suspense...Hitchcock fans won’t want to miss this nuanced, multilayered novel." — Publishers Weekly

"Prepare to be enthralled - The Quiet Girl will grab your emotions and then hang on with a death grip. Atmospheric and twisty enough to deliver whiplash, S.F Kosa writes with a keen eye for detail and surprise endings. A compelling narrative that hums with momentum long after the reader is done." — Maureen Joyce Connolly, author of Little Lovely Things

"Kosa puts her real-world experience as a clinical psychologist to work exploring trauma and its insidiousness while deftly weaving together two seemingly unrelated narratives...A twisty and poignant debut." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-06-17
Alex Zarabian thought life was good with his new wife, Mina, until the day she disappeared.

Alex, the chief financial officer of a startup that aims to cure cancer, loves being married to successful romance author Mina Richards, and he thought she was happy, too. However, they'd argued on Monday when Alex suggested they start a family, and Mina left their Boston home for her little writing cottage in Provincetown. It wasn’t unusual for Mina to retreat to her cottage to write and think, and he thought giving her space for a few days would help, but it’s out of character for her not to respond to his texts. He only truly starts to worry when he goes up to Provincetown after work on Wednesday and finds her wedding and engagement rings in a little ceramic bowl on her desk. Then he learns that a neighbor saw Mina load a cake carrier into her car Monday night, evidently on her way to her parents’ house for dinner, which they confirm, but that’s where the trail ends. At a loss, Alex files a missing person report and starts digging for clues himself. When her phone and her car, with her wallet and keys locked inside, are found, Alex truly panics. Then there’s that new manuscript Mina left with her editor that was unlike anything she’d ever written. Turns out Alex didn’t know as much about his wife as he thought. The pseudonymous Kosa puts her real-world experience as a clinical psychologist to work exploring trauma and its insidiousness while deftly weaving together two seemingly unrelated narratives: Alex’s first-person account and one that focuses on a troubled young waitress named Layla. The story takes a bit of time to find its footing, and the passages about Alex’s workplace woes seem extraneous. However, once it picks up the pace, readers, especially those that appreciate less-than-tidy resolutions, will be hooked.

A twisty and poignant debut.

Kirkus Reviews