Heather: A Novel

“I’ve found my favorite crime novel of the year so far, one I’m already recommending to people who love Tana French and Liz Moore…. I read Heather in a single sitting.” —Sarah Weinman, The New York Times

“If you enjoyed Mare of Easttown, you’ll love Heather. A gritty cold-case detective story, vividly and insightfully written. Not just a story of murder, it’s a thought-provoking and moving meditation on mothers and daughters and the long-reaching consequences of the choices we make.” ―Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury

A small-town detective reopens an unsolved case, sending shock waves across generations of women in this gripping new mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author of Please See Us.

1990. In the myth-riddled woods of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, sixteen-year-old Annabelle Riley's twin sister, Sabrina, has been having an affair with a mysterious older man, and Annabelle is determined to uncover what's going on. Then, inexplicably, both sisters disappear.

In this same town years later, newly instated police chief Callie Hauser makes an arrest that unexpectedly resurrects details from a heartbreaking cold case. As she digs deeper, the past and the present collide, challenging everything Callie believes about right and wrong, who she is, and the town she's always called home.

A propulsive mystery as incisive as it is forgiving, Heather bears a visceral reminder that the truth of a woman's life is often complicated and unknowable—to those on the outside, and sometimes even to herself.

Caitlin Mullen is the author of Please See Us, which won the 2021 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was named a New York Times best crime novel in 2020. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and children.

“I’ve found my favorite crime novel of the year so far, one I’m already recommending to people who love Tana French and Liz Moore…. I read Heather in a single sitting.”
—Sarah Weinman, The New York Times

"Caitlin Mullen’s Heather is the rare book that manages to be both a riveting page-turner and a deeply insightful meditation on the lives of girls and women. A story of mothers, daughters, and the tangled bonds of sisterhood, Heather reveals each character in her full complexity—hard and soft, struggling and empowered, each with her own past full of regrets and fiercely-earned triumphs. The final pages took my breath away."
—Alexis Schaitkin, author of Saint X and Elsewhere

“If you enjoyed Mare of Easttown, you’ll love Heather. A gritty cold-case detective story, vividly and insightfully written. Not just a story of murder, it’s a thought-provoking and moving meditation on mothers and daughters and the long-reaching consequences of the choices we make.”
―Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury

"Visceral as a wound and nuanced as a river’s crosscurrents, Mullen’s latest is a tour de force exploration of the intersection between generational trauma and generational corruption, a story brimming with equal parts horror and humanity. With HEATHER, Caitlin Mullen is at the height of her powers."
―Katie Lattari, author of Dark Things I Adore

"Heather is not only a compelling mystery, but also a deeply empathic portrait of women’s lives in all their complexities. A thought-provoking and engaging read that stays with you long after you finish."
―Amy Tintera, author of New York Times bestseller Listen for the Lie

“Stunning! A gorgeously written page-turner that’s many things at once: gritty and lyrical, gripping and moving, suspenseful and profound."
—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Only One Left

"A beautiful and propulsive literary mystery perfect for fans of Tana French and Liz Moore—Heather is a deeply immersive, eerie, and timely novel about girlhood, motherhood, and friendship; the stories we inherit and the ones we create; and who deserves punishment for the most intimate crimes. Caitlin Mullen is an extraordinary chronicler of women's grit and resilience--and the unfathomable choices we make when our backs are against the wall. I loved this novel."
—Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You'll Ever Know

"Heather is an absorbing, atmospheric novel, written with empathy and a lot of heart. Caitlin Mullen delivers a stylish, propulsive read, featuring characters that will stay with you long after you're done turning the pages."
—Clémence Michallon, internationally bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant