The Son's Secret

by Daryl Wood Gerber

Overview

What if you're the only one who believes your son is missing? A chilling, twisty psychological suspense novel, perfect for fans of Laura Dave and Gillian Flynn.

Maggie Lawson is the smart, capable dean of a boutique college, but even the most confident mother has a weakness - her child. When Maggie can't reach her college senior son, Aiden, to tell him that his father has been shot, she starts to panic. She texts. She calls.

Is Aiden ghosting her, or have the dangerous stories Aiden's father, her investigative journalist ex-husband, pursues finally brought trouble to her door? Maggie is sure that something is very wrong, but no one believes her. As dark events unfold, she must rely on her own investigative instincts to find Aiden. But when Maggie uncovers a devastating secret, she faces a race against time to save him.

With its dizzying plot twists, explosive family drama, and relentless pacing that races toward a shattering climax, The Son’s Secret is a heart-pounding, emotionally charged “page-turner” (Kirkus Reviews) from Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber that will keep readers breathless until the final page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448312542
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.79(w) x 8.74(h) x (d)

About the Author

Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Aspen Adams novels of suspense and a number of standalones, as well as the Fairy Garden mysteries, the French Bistro mysteries, and the Cookbook Nook mysteries. Under the pen name Avery Aames, Daryl writes the Cheese Shop mysteries. Daryl loves to cook, read, golf, swim, and garden. She also likes adventure and has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Editorial Reviews

Nonstop action and a surprise around every corner! Will have you turning pages as fast as you can

Hank Phillippi Ryan

A twisting tale of family secrets with a shocking murder at its core

Jamie Freveletti

Guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat

Hilary Davidson

2023-10-21
A college dean in New Orleans is frantic when her son suddenly drops off the radar.

Maggie Lawson’s son is a college senior. Even when Aiden lost his girlfriend in a hit-and-run and then suddenly married Celine Boudreaux, her best friend, he’s been good about keeping in touch—until now. First he seems to be ghosting his mother by barely answering her texts. When Maggie’s ex-husband, an investigative reporter, is shot, Aiden is a no-show. Meanwhile, Maggie is facing pressures at work, including several unreasonable parents and a sexual harassment suit against a coach. Her best friend, Gina, is trying to keep her grounded, but Maggie has a very bad feeling about Aiden’s sudden silence. Growing ever more desperate, she talks to Celine, with whom she has a cool relationship. After making excuses, Celine finally admits that Aiden’s left her, and she has no idea where he is. Although Maggie had to cut the couple off financially because her house flooded and she has to pay to keep her mother in a care home, she doesn’t think that’s the problem. So she sets out to talk to Aiden’s friends, the people at the digital design company where he’s interning, and college contacts who might know his whereabouts. Maggie’s dad was an LAPD veteran, and she attended the police academy before dropping out, so she has some connections in the New Orleans Police Department. But it’s hard to get people concerned about a missing adult. Have family problems made her into a helicopter mother? So be it: Maggie decides she has to investigate herself if she’s to find her beloved son.

New Orleans is a perfect setting for the mixed bag of motives in this page-turner.

Kirkus Reviews

With a likable cast of characters, engaging dialogue and a setting that added to the allure of this drama, this is the best book in the series and I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for Aspen and her friends.

Dru’s Book Musings on Cold Conviction