Thriller maven Lisa Gardner’s latest delivers small-town chills, New England style.

On this episode of Fully Booked, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner joins us to discuss You’ll Be Sorry (Grand Central Publishing, Aug. 4).  “A small-town sheriff uncovers centuries’ worth of secrets,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of a twisty standalone thriller that’s “admirably ambitious in scope and mystery.”

Thirty years ago, in bucolic Shereford, New Hampshire, the Dixon family— a mother, a father, and their four children—disappeared during a summer storm. Their majestic lodge, abandoned ever since, has become the stuff of local lore. That’s why the town is shocked when out-of-towners Raquel and Theo Collins buy the dilapidated estate with the intention of turning it into a B&B. After town sheriff Mandy Grady—whose late father, the former sheriff, was bedeviled by the Dixons’ disappearance for the rest of his life—pays a call on the new property owners, she senses not all is as it seems.

Here’s a bit more from our review: “Now Mandy has to figure out how these ancient sins are related to the more contemporary crimes—because someone in Shereford knows exactly what happened to the Dixons. Gardner deftly juggles a number of characters, plot threads, secrets, time periods, and motives, delivering a satisfyingly layered novel that interrogates the insular lives and histories of small towns.”

Gardner transformed an interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a globally acclaimed career as a thriller writer. She is the author of 25 novels, and her work has been published in 30 countries. Four of her novels have been adapted for television, and Gardner has appeared on TruTV and CNN. The International Thriller Writers gave her 2024 novel, The Neighbor, their award for Best Hardcover Novel. She lives with her family in New Hampshire.

In a delightful conversation, Gardner and I discuss small-town secrets, Raquel and Theo’s relationship, what it means for Mandy to take on her late father’s role in the community, ambiguous loss, how to get inside the mind of a killer, and much more.

At the end of our interview, Gardner recommends a novel her multigenerational family book club loved. Follow @kirkus_reviews on Instagram, DM us the title of that novel, along with your email and location, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to receive a $100 Visa gift card, courtesy of Kirkus. The giveaway is open to legal residents of the U.S. who have reached 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively  

Blood Moon Over Bentonville by Bernard Doucette

Death on Warriors Way by Dave Pyle

The Murder Investigation of Adolf Hitler by Peter Clenott

Dear Laura, a Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura Elliott 

Fully Booked is produced by Jessica Lockhart and Megan Labrise.