The Return

I.

             What do you mean she s missing?

I watched frantic ants descend upon a nearby apple core and a face-down slice of pizza. A renegade splinter faction marched across the parking lot with tiny bits of food on their backs. The raccoons must have been in the garbage behind my office again, and I made a mental note to report it when I got back inside, but of course I forgot.

            She s missing, Molly said, her exasperation creeping in through the receiver. I don t know how else to explain it to you.

            She s not missing.

            Above all else, I knew two truths about Julie. The first was that she was the most stubborn, most determined person I d ever met. And the second was she loved attention. Julie would never be missing. She might go dark, intentionally disappear herself for a few days here or there just to make sure someone noticed. A pop quiz: Do you love me? That she was capable of. That I believed. But missing, as in milk cartons and posters and hounds in fields, no way.

            I told Molly as much.

            What year do you think this is? Milk cartons?

            That s my point. People don t go missing anymore.

            What? What world are you living in?

             I d been asking myself that question for a long time. I didn t have an answer for her.

            She left her house last Friday morning to go hiking and she never came

Rachel Harrison was born and raised in the weird state of New Jersey. She received her bachelor's in Writing for Film & Television from Emerson College. After graduating, she worked on TV game shows, in publishing, and for a big bank. She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband and their cat/overlord. This is her first novel.

"Marvelous. The storytelling is quick, well plotted and engrossing." - The New York Times

"Hair-raising horror and pure entertainment...The tension and nuance of Harrison s complicated female friendships add depth to an already delicious, chilling debut."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

The Return is supernatural horror at its very best! Sharp dialogue, complex relationships and mind-bending action will have readers locking their doors and checking under their beds. Rachel Harrison has reinvented this genre and will surely be hailed as a pioneer among her peers. Wendy Walker, National Bestselling Author of The Night Before
 
Combining suspense and horror with razor-sharp insights into the nature of female friendships, Rachel Harrison s The Return is a creepy, nerve-wracking, page-turning addition to the emerging field of horror thrillers. Alma Katsu, Author of The Deep and The Hunger

"By turns scary and funny, horrifying and real, The Return is impossible to put down. It takes an honest, scathing look at female friendship while at the same time pulling the reader into a perfect nightmare of a story."--Simone St. James, USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel
 
The Return is moving and terrifying in equal measure. A brilliant rumination on friendship, pain, and the myriad of unsuccessful ways we all try to run from our past and fill the holes in our hearts. Harrison s keen prose won t let you go. Be warned, you ll double check the locks on your doors before you try to sleep. Mallory O Meara, National bestselling author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon
 
A sharp, refreshing book about the mortifying ordeal of being known. This is a book that understands how terrifying a lasting friendship can truly be; Harrison brilliantly highlights the way friendships can tether a person to their worst memories, their worst selves, and their worst nightmares.