Rival groups of local and wealthy teens in a small Everglades town confront the secrets that rise from the waters in the wake of a hurricane in this sizzling and suspenseful thriller from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young—perfect for fans of Outer Banks and The White Lotus. Some secrets won’t stay buried. Not even in the Everglades. Deep in the Everglades, there was once a luxurious and legendary hotel enjoyed by the wealthy elite. Until one mysterious night when a fire tore through the building, killing a young socialite and casting blame on a local dock worker. Soon after, the hotel vanished, swallowed up by the wetlands like it never existed at all. Until now. When a powerful hurricane unearths the ruins of the long-forgotten hotel, the past is dragged back to the surface as clues to the devasting truth about the night of the fire are revealed. It’s the truth that die-hard local Noa and her friends have been chasing for years in the hopes of clearing their ancestor’s name and pushing back against the rich families trying to force them out. With the help of Jamie, the rebellious son of a wealthy businessman, Noa and her crew begin a desperate fight for the justice they deserve. It won’t be easy. Because the wealthy control just about everything on Paradise Coast—including the truth. And they will do whatever it takes, even kill, to make sure the past stays buried. In the Everglades town of Cape Hope, Florida, the tensions between the Chasers—townies with small businesses and jobs that depend on the tourist season—and the Collective—the wealthy hotel owners and elite who want to either buy up or downright steal the Chasers’ businesses—are simmering to a boil. Noa’s family’s Surf Shack is one of the few Chaser-owned places left standing, but after Noa’s brother took off and left just Noa and her dad to run the place, their finances are increasingly strained. There could be a way out of it, however, if Noa can finally pin down the Collective’s role in a decades-old mystery involving a dead socialite, a missing Chaser, and a vanishing island. To do this, she must find the mysterious Rum Runner Island, and she’ll need a sturdy, functioning boat, so she’s going to have to enlist her ex-boyfriend Jamie, a Collective kid who broke her heart last summer but seems eager to help now. Things take a turn when a dead body washes up on the shore and later two guys with guns show up, making it clear Noa and Jamie are onto something that might take the Collective down for good. Skillful writing evokes the treacherous allure of the Everglades, making it perfectly plausible that an island could simply disappear in this wild place where predatory gators lie in wait and the air is so oppressive it would surely muffle any cries for help. Less plausible are the incongruent plot beats that rely too heavily on leaps of logic and a deus ex machina in the form of a strangely knowledgeable but unknown relative. Fortunately, the dual narration between Jamie and Noa keeps the pace lively and lays out the emotional stakes well enough to keep readers engaged. Direct fans of Lockhart’s We Were Liars series (BCCB 6/14, et al.) here for another look at beautiful places with dangerous secrets. KQG -- BCCB ― January 2026 "Atmospheric and suspenseful; readers will be engrossed until the last page." -- Kirkus ― December 15, 2025 "A community’s decades-old feud comes to a head in this savvy thriller from Young (In Nightfall) . . . Pulse-pounding mystery and romance." -- Publishers Weekly ― 11/17/2025 Deep in the Florida Everglades, a mystery holds sway over the community of Cape Hope. Years ago, a hotel burned, a woman was murdered, and the cover-up caused the town to divide. The Collective, the rich people who own and control everything, and the Chasers, the less well-off townies, still are at violent odds with each other. The story bounces back and forth between the viewpoints of two protagonists: Noa, a young teen girl who helps her dad run the Surf Shack; and Jamie, a social pariah who holds on to just enough influence to run with the rich kids. Together, along with others, Noa and Jamie will investigate what really happened at the Starline Hotel (seeking to clear the reputation of the suspected murderer) and how their families and others are connected to the darker history of the town. Fans of mysteries around beach communities like television series Outer Banks will flock to Young’s (The Program) summer mystery. A mix of romance, adventure, and class struggle, this story brings something for all readers—especially mystery fans, who will enjoy trying to follow the clues that the characters discover. The racial/ethnic identity of the characters are not mentioned. VERDICT Perfect as either a beach read or stormy night mystery, this is a hit that will roll right off shelves. -- School Library Journal ― 12/1/25 A community’s decades-old feud comes to a head in this savvy thriller from