Finder’s Keepers

Everyone is reading the bestselling novel Diary of an Octopus by Emily Harper, but Rose knows that the novel is her real story, from her diary—and if anyone puts two and two together, she is going to jail for murder. In 8th grade, Rose crushed on her teacher Mr. Bellamy, and when Mrs. Bellamy was found murdered, Rose came under suspicion but was never charged. In order to destroy the evidence, she has to find her stolen laptop, which she is sure Emily has. To get close to Emily, Rose becomes her number one fan, presenting herself as Iris at multiple book signings and even accepting an offer to stay with her target for a few days. What could be better? This psychological thriller, with a murder mystery at its heart, grows increasingly twisty as readers learn about Rose’s tween years and the manipulation she suffered at the hands of Mr. Bellamy, which left her damaged and doubting her own self-worth and reality. The high-stakes cat-and-mouse story finds Rose pulled into a past she thought she had escaped. Fans of Stephen King’s Misery and Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot will find much to enjoy here.