All the Broken People

my own dog from getting hurt. I couldn't bear to lose him, too.



A car pulled up behind me, an old butter-yellow Mercedes. In the air, the smell of fried food-Davis and I had once dreamed of converting a diesel Mercedes to run on biodiesel, used cooking oil, free from restaurants. A woman climbed out of the driver's side, graceful and lithe. Her golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, falling down her back, stick straight. Her cheekbones were high, her boobs perky, and her arms annoyingly taut. She wore black spandex pants and a loose black tank over a hot-pink sports bra-the kind of woman for whom "athleisure" was invented. What did she want?



"You okay?" she asked, eyes scrunching up with concern. "Do you need help?"



Her words made tears prick my eyes. I needed more help than she could possibly know. Quickly, I shut the door as Dusty whined. "It was just a deer," I managed. "It surprised me, but I'm fine." Before she could say anything else, I was back in my car, shifting into drive.



In the rearview mirror, I saw her, eyes locked straight ahead-watching to make sure I was okay, or watching me? She was still following when I reached the farmhouse, the one the agent had told me to look out for. It was gorgeously decrepit, with red siding, peeling white trim, and a sloping roof whose edges sharpened to a point. I passed it, watching as the woman turned into the driveway-my new neighbor.



I inched down the road but didn't see another house, only a meadow on one side and fat-leaved trees on the other. I pulled over, checking the rearview once again. I grabbed my phone. Its SIM card had been replaced yesterday, but the screen was shattered-it would take at least a hundred dollars to fix it. I opened my new email, keying in my password and finding the response from the agent, Jennifer Moon, whose email signature featured two colors and a swirling font.



Hi Lucy! Thanks for your quick reply. I'm so thrilled you'll be renting the cottage,

they are intriguing and then, once she's you're on the edge of your seat with tension and unease, the twists keep on coming right up to the final page. I read it in one sitting. An assured and astonishing debut from an author destined to become a big name in thriller fiction." Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Dead to Her

All the Broken People hooked me from the start. This book has everything-engaging characters, a unique story, and an ending that will blow you away. Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

"I love Konen's writing style All the Broken People is super pacy and whizzes you along before you know it, the minutes have turned into hours! I couldn t put it down until I knew how it ended." Sandie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of 

"Leah Konen hits it out of the park with her debut suspense, All the Broken People, in which a faked death goes horribly awry. Konen delivers with Lucy, who escapes to rustic Woodstock for a fresh start, only to discover her new neighbors are harboring disturbing secrets of their own. A sly, up-all-night thriller that ends with a surprising bang." Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of Dear Wife

"This fast-paced but nuanced thrill ride grabbed me on the first page and didn't let go. With spare, haunting prose, a tense and richly wrought setting, intricate plotting, and twists that would make Hitchcock himself gasp, All The Broken People is a masterful debut. Thriller fans, meet your new favorite author." Andrea Bartz, author of The Lost Night