Charlotte loves her husband, her big-blooming flower shop, and especially her five-year-old daughter, Daisy, with whom her brother's new girlfriend, Ruth, seems creepily obsessed. Ruth loves her job, her new boyfriend, and her boyfriend's charming niece, but Daisy's mother seems positively hostile--and Ruth senses that she's hiding something. What's really happening, and who just kidnapped Daisy? Following the big-splash debut, A Simple Favor, which sold over a half-million copies across formats and was made into a feature film. With a 200,000-copy paperback and 20,000-copy hardcover first printing.

In a twist on the missing-child plot, five-year-old Daisy is taken by a person known to her family who doesn't hide what she's done. Daisy is the bright, beloved only child of Charlotte, who runs a now-thriving florist shop and floral-arrangement business, and Eli, who made enough money in finance to live comfortably and indulge his love of theater, currently as a set designer and stage manager. When Charlotte finds that Daisy has been signed out of after-school care by her brother Rocco's girlfriend, Ruth, she's frantic. Ruth, who has a childlike quality that captivates Daisy, has been a puzzle ever since Rocco brought her to dinner and she forced them to eat cinnamon buns, made by her grandmother, before the meal. Most of the story is told, alternately, from the standpoints of Charlotte and Ruth, as the truth is gradually teased from lies on the part of both parties, effectively building suspense. Bell (A Simple Favour, 2017) is making domestic thrillers her trade, and this will compel readers to its surprisingly sympathetic end.

Up-and-coming floral designer Charlotte, the heroine of this twisty thriller from bestseller Bell (A Simple Favor), lives in Manhattan's East Village with her husband, Eli, and their five-year-old daughter, Daisy. Charlotte worries about her daughter, a shy asthmatic child. When Charlotte's brother, Rocco, introduces her to Ruth, his latest girlfriend, Ruth strikes Charlotte as an improvement over his many previous girlfriends. But as Rocco and Ruth become more serious, Ruth develops what Charlotte views as an unhealthy attachment to Daisy, and she's jealous of her daughter's close relationship with Ruth. When Charlotte goes to pick up Daisy from an afterschool program and learns that Ruth has taken her, her worst suspicions about Ruth are realized, and she's determined to find Daisy before any harm can befall her. Bell seamlessly shifts between the present and the past, exploring how Charlotte's secrets have influenced her. Fans who like surprises around every corner will be drawn to this intriguing tale. Agent: Denise Shannon, Denise Shannon Literary. (Apr.)