Long Time Gone

September 15, 2024
Echoes of the past may become dangerous when a private eye's investigation of her aunt's disappearance becomes even more personal. When her aunt Cora goes missing, Quinn Cutheridge returns to the town of Wonderland, Wyoming, for the first time in a decade. Although Quinn's line of work gives her a professional lens that might help get to the bottom of Cora's disappearance, she's ambivalent about taking on the case. She hasn't seen or spoken to her aunt since Cora unceremoniously told her then-teenage niece nearly 10 years ago that she wasn't welcome in Cora's home anymore. Because Quinn's mother was sort of a nonentity, Cora's house had been Quinn's respite, and she still has no idea why she was sent away. But Hunter Lemming, Cora's 21-year-old female ranch hand, is adamant that Quinn return, so she reluctantly does. Even though she's trying to do Hunter a favor in searching for Cora, Hunter remains distant, calling her "Princess" and sharing the minimum amount of information she might need to solve the mystery. It's not clear if Hunter's unfriendliness stems from knowing more than she'll say or if it's a reaction to the undeniable spark between her and Quinn. Quinn is particularly suspicious of Hunter's chumminess with local Sheriff Maddie Bridgers, who comes from the town's high-powered Coldwater family. Suspense builds along with the rising tension between the women. Interspersed chapters tell the 40-year-old story of Jessica Coldwater, who was murdered as a teen. The townsfolk assume that her best friend, Holly Prine, killed her, though Holly's disappearance means that no one has ever been sure. If Quinn can only figure out how her present-day case is linked to this presumably solved crime, she can find out what happened to Cora. Suspense and romance build in a story about the shattering pressures of hiding the truth.

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