The Lost Kings

Informationen zum Autor Tyrell Johnson Klappentext "A riveting psychological thriller about a woman forced to confront the darkest moment in her childhood in order to move on from her past and open her heart to love. One night when Jeanie King is twelve years old, her father comes home covered in blood. The next day, Jeanie wakes up alone. Her father has disappeared and he's taken her beloved twin brother, Jamie. Inevitably, this loss leads to others, as Jeanie is ripped from her life in rural Washington and her childhood love, Maddox. Twenty years later, Jeanie, now in England, keeps her demons at bay by drinking too much, sleeping with a married man, and speaking to a therapist she doesn't respect. But her past catches up to her in the form of Maddox, who shows up at her dead-end job with a proposition: he's found her father, he says, will she come with him to confront her dad and find out what really happened that night, what really happened to Jamie? At once a heart-pounding mystery and an affecting exploration of love and the familial ties that bind us, The Lost Kings is a propulsive read that will transport, move, and shock you"-- Leseprobe Chapter 1 NOW The elevator doors open and an old lady enters. As she shuffles in, she doesn't see me leaning against the back wall. She's wearing a scratchy-looking purple sweater, purple sweatpants, and glasses with lenses as thick as my thumb. She turns to face the doors as they slide closed. I watch, waiting for her to press the button to her floor. As the elevator begins to move, I feel obliged to say something. Fifth floor? I ask, nodding to the small white 5 on the panel, lit with golden light. She turns, her eyes wide as if surprised to see me. What's that? Are you going to the fifth floor? I ask a little louder. No, no, fourth, she says, turning back around. She still hasn't pressed a button, and now I have a social obligation. I don't know how to do this without making her feel stupid, so I lean forward and press the button for her. She says nothing. I look over at her white hair, which is sticking up at all angles as if she's just been electrocuted. She's got way too much hair spray on. It's pungent. Suffocating. A single flame in here and she'd light up like a Christmas tree. She's the type of old that doesn't really notice the world around herI'm pretty sure she's already forgotten that I'm in the elevator. I could give her a heart attack if I wanted. Grab her shoulder, scream, and watch her drop like a fainting goat. That image shouldn't be funny to me, I know that, but I can't help myself. Bad thoughts find me; I don't go looking. The elevator stops and the doors open to the fourth floor. The woman gets off, and I have the small space, still fragrant with her hair spray, to myself. Suddenly I feel the weight of all the decisions I've made leading to this point. It sits in my throat like bad acid reflux. My therapist tells me that we are the products of all the choices we've made in our lives, and each day is a new choice, a chance to reshape who and what we are. I will myself to step out of the elevator, to be someone different, to not do what I've come there for. Maybe I could join the old lady for a cup of tea, spray my own head with copious amounts of flammable chemicals. We could play bridge, become best friends. I'd call William, tell him it's over. The doors begin to close, and I reach out a hand to press the open button, my finger hovering over the plastic as I wait for myself to push forward, to watch the golden light fill the small white circle. But I don't. I lower my hand. The doors hum shut. I knock on the door of flat 502. After a few seconds of silence, it snaps open. And there he is, William, smile on his face, slight stubble gracing his angular chin, eyebrows straight over pale blue eyes. His hair is unkempt and slightly graying around th...

Auteur

Tyrell Johnson

Résumé
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

“The plot folds into a brilliant twist.”—The New York Times

“A novel in disguise. You could easily (and happily) mistake it for a stellar psychological thriller, bristling with surprises and packed with secrets; but listen closely and you’ll hear the beat of a dark, full heart, strong and loud. This is deeply moving fiction.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Twins Jeanie and Jamie King are inseparable. Stuck in a cabin in rural Washington with their alcoholic father, they cling to one another for safety and companionship. Until one night, when their father comes home covered in blood. The next day, he is gone ... and so is Jamie. Jeanie’s whole world is turned upside down. Not only has she lost her beloved brother, but with no family left in Washington, she is ripped from everything she knows, including Maddox, the boy she could be learning to love.

Twenty years later, Jeanie is in England. She keeps her demons at bay by drinking too much, sleeping with a married man, and speaking to a therapist she doesn’t respect. But her old life catches up to her when Maddox reappears, claiming to have tracked down her dad. Stunned, Jeanie must decide whether to continue running from her past or to confront her father and finally find out what really happened that night, where her brother is, and why she was the one left behind.

At once a propulsive, heart-pounding mystery and an affecting exploration of love and the familial ties that bind us, The Lost Kings will transport, move, and shock you.