AustLit

'Mercilessly bullied in high school, Ava knows she needs to put the past behind her and move on, but she can't - not until she's exacted precise, catastrophic revenge on the people who hurt her the most.

'First, she watches Saanvi. Flawlessly chic and working hard at a top architectural firm, Saanvi has it all together on the surface. But everyone does bad things when they think no one is watching and Ava only wants what's fair - to destroy Saanvi's life the way her own was destroyed.

'Next, she watches Cass. She's there as Cass tries on wedding dresses, she's there when Cass picks out a cake, she's there when Cass betrays her fiancé. She's the reason Cass's entire future comes crashing down.

'Finally, Ava watches Mel. Mel was always the ringleader and if anyone has to pay, it's her. But one tiny slipup and Ava realises the truth: Mel knows she's being watched, and she's ready to play Ava's games to the bitter end.' (Publication summary)

'In real life, they are enemies. Emma the know-it-all, Michael the bully, Fabian the coward, Tessie the weirdo and Sam the mystery. Online they are best friends, with one big thing in common: they are all sure they are adopted.

'When they finally meet, they are horrified to find that the people they have been sharing their souls with are the people they hate. They decide to never speak again.

'But avoiding each other is difficult in a small mountain town with only one high school.

'It's also tough to ignore one another when they each begin to realise that what their parents are hiding is much more sinister than just adoption.

'The five teenagers have a choice to make. Continue to live a lie, or come together to hunt down the truth, no matter how dangerous that may be. Because the real story of their parentage is much more terrifying than they ever could have imagined.

'It is a secret that goes to the very heart of the town itself.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'What happens when ambition trumps the truth?

'A town reeling in the wake of tragedy

'An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most recently burning down the town's courthouse and killing a young boy who was trapped inside.

'An aspiring journalist desperate for a story

'The clock is ticking for Rose Blakey. With nothing but rejections from newspapers piling up, her job pulling beers for cops at the local tavern isn't nearly enough to cover rent. Rose needs a story—a big one.

'Little dolls full of secrets

'In the weeks after the courthouse fire, precise porcelain replicas of Colmstock's daughters begin turning up on doorsteps, terrifying parents and testing the limits of the town's already fractured police force.

'Rose may have finally found her story. But as her articles gain traction and the boundaries of her investigation blur, Colmstock is seized by a seething paranoia. Soon, no one is safe from suspicion. And when Rose's attention turns to the mysterious stranger living in the rooms behind the tavern, neighbor turns on neighbor and the darkest side of self-preservation is revealed.' (Publication Summary)