Goodnight Stranger

Shirley Jackson Award Finalist: A “deeply compelling” literary thriller about two siblings and a man who could be the brother they never knew (George Saunders, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo).

Lydia and Lucas Moore are in their late twenties when a stranger enters their small world on Wolf Island. Lydia, the responsible sister, has cared for her pathologically shy brother ever since their mom’s death a decade before. They live, comfortable yet confined, in their family house by the sea, shadowed by events from their childhood.

When Lydia sees the stranger step off the ferry, she feels an immediate connection. Lucas is convinced the man, Cole Anthony, is the reincarnation of their brother, who died as a baby. Cole knows their mannerisms, their home, the topography of the island—what else could that mean? Lydia is doubtful, but she can’t deny she is drawn to his magnetism, his energy, and his warmth. To discover the truth about Cole, Lydia must finally face her anxiety about leaving the island, and summon the strength to challenge Cole’s grip on her family’s past and her brother.

“One of the best literary thrillers you’ll read this year.” —Cosmopolitan

“Gault finesses the mechanics of her puzzle . . . an intriguing subtext about the infantilizing hazards of familial devotion.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Taut, evocative . . . shows us what binds us to places and what sets us free.” —The Boston Globe

“Quietly chilling . . . A suspenseful meditation on the many ways in which the past, consciously or not, shapes the present, the novel flirts with fantasy but ultimately stays grounded in the elemental realities of wind, tides, and the eroding foundations of memory.” —Booklist

“Reminds me of Karen Russell, Donna Tartt, Gillian Flynn, and Marilynne Robinson all at once . . . a monster debut.” —Daniel Torday, author of The Last Flight of Poxl West

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize