Gemma - by Lauren A Forry (Hardcover)

About the Book

""Sometime between the late night and early morning hours, in a dank, uncomfortable interrogation room, sits a young woman about to tell you a chilling story. Her pregnant sister, Sarah, is missing. Her cousin is somehow involved. They were all down by the Schuylkill River last night, she says, but she won't say why. She's cold, terrified, and confused about what happened. Or is she just lying? You want to believe her. Her story seems plausible on the surface. But as you dig deeper, it's clear something is very wrong. Instead of helping to find her sister, she keeps telling you stories about her ex-roommate, Gemma. Gemma, who came into their lives offering a six-month cash deposit up front, proffered from a dirty gym bag. Gemma, who disrupted their routines with her manipulative behavior, her bizarre habits, and her secrets. Gemma, who disappeared quietly several months ago, leaving no trace of where she went or that she had ever lived with them all. Who was Gemma and what happened to her? What does it have to do with Sarah's disappearance? Are they part of some elaborate game or is something else going on? And what happened by the river last night? Why can't she just tell the truth?"--

Book Synopsis

What happened at the river last night? A twisty psychological thriller for readers of Megan Miranda, Megan Abbot, Taylor Adams, and Catriona Ward

Sometime between the late night and early morning hours, in a dank, uncomfortable interrogation room, sits a young woman about to tell you a chilling story. Her pregnant sister, Sarah, is missing. Her cousin is somehow involved. They were all down by the Schuylkill River last night, she says, but she won't say why. She's cold, terrified, and confused about what happened. Or is she just lying?

You want to believe her. Her story seems plausible on the surface. But as you dig deeper, it's clear something is very wrong. Instead of helping to find her sister, she keeps telling you stories about her ex-roommate, Gemma. Gemma, who came into their lives offering a six-month cash deposit up front, proffered from a dirty gym bag. Gemma, who disrupted their routines with her manipulative behavior, her bizarre habits, and her secrets. Gemma, who disappeared quietly several months ago, leaving no trace of where she went or that she had ever lived with them all.

Who was Gemma and what happened to her? What does it have to do with Sarah's disappearance? Are they part of some elaborate game or is something else going on? And what happened by the river last night? Why can't she just tell the truth?

From the author of They Did Bad Things, Gemma is a devious new mystery and slowly escalating psychological thriller with a touch of horror.

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR GEMMA

"Cursed money, seances, and the greatest terror of all . . . roommates. Gemma is a twisty, sprawling web of lies and misdirection. A novel of heart and neurosis, presented by one of the least reliable narrators of all time, a narrator that confounds and weedles, working at the edge of the reader's nerves until you're ready to scream 'but what happened!' and then it all clicks into place with a wonderous, sickening realization. Forry is a master of her craft and doesn't mess around." --Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield and Influencer

"Forry is a master of mystery, weaving intricate plot twists into this story that will keep you up all night turning pages." --Sarah L. Blair, author of the Tides of Darkness series

"A tour-de-force of unreliable narration and duplicity that kept me gasping from page one. Forry is a magician, and Gemma is her wildest trick yet." --Paul Witcover, author of Lincolnstein

PRAISE FOR THEY DID BAD THINGS
"A superior riff on And Then There Were None . . . Forry expertly maintains the nail-biting suspense while fully developing her characters. Agatha Christie fans won't want to miss this one."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Forry keeps readers on edge. . . . The solution to the past and present mysteries involves a well-executed twist. This is one for fans of Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party." --Booklist

"Forry does a fine job keeping the surprises coming in rapid succession, making this life-like game of Clue one that will be very hard to predict when the envelope is opened and all is revealed." --bookreporter

"As ingenious as Knives Out, as twisted as Gone Girl, They Did Bad Things is a very good thing indeed."--Paul Witcover, author of Tumbling After and finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award

"Lauren A. Forry creates a chilly, claustrophobic thriller with a group of misfit characters who not only have a history together but also a bucketful of secrets. They Did Bad Things covers all the 'dunnits'--who, what, why, where, and how--and you'll want to read to the end to find out all the answers." --Raymond Benson, author of Blues in the Dark and The Secrets on Chicory Lane

"Lauren A. Forry . . . is obviously well-versed in nightmares." --The Skinny

About the Author

Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to earn her undergraduate degree in Cinema Studies and Screenwriting from New York University. She later earned her MA and MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, England. There she was awarded the Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize for her thesis work, Abigale Hall, published by Arcade. She is also the author of They Did Bad Things, published by Arcade CrimeWise. She is a faculty member at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA and also adjuncts for Southern New Hampshire University's MFA program. She and her former roommate were only suspected of kidnapping once.