Publisher Description
On the anniversary of a teen’s disappearance, three friends face a deadly hometown reunion in this twisty suspense novel by a New York Times bestselling author.
On prom night, Caroline Winterfield walked away from the ruins of an abandoned mansion called Haven Cliff and into the woods…never to be seen again. Only her three best friends know what really happened. But a secret is a secret, and a promise is a promise—even when it shatters lifelong friendships.
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, Midge, Kelly, and Talia reunite at Haven Cliff, now a gleaming architectural jewel. But they aren’t alone. Someone is watching. Someone who knows what really happened to Caroline—and to the man who now lies dead a stone’s throw from where she was last seen.
Police detective Midge knows she’s dealing with a murder the moment she sees the item clutched in his lifeless hand. Only three other people in the world would grasp its significance. That means Kelly and Talia are either involved or in danger, because Caroline is long gone…or is she?
Thrilling Reads Book Review
Wendy Corsi Staub’s The Fourth Girl opens in familiar thriller territory—old secrets, a vanished teen, and a cold-case anniversary that lures estranged friends back to the scene of the crime. At first, though, the novel meanders through so much setup that the tension diffuses; a solid hundred pages could have been trimmed without affecting its atmospheric pull. But patience pays off: once Staub tightens her focus on Haven Cliff’s dark history and the trio who swore lifelong silence, the narrative transforms into the kind of breath-stealing, chapter-devouring ride thriller fans crave.
Told in dual timelines—from 1999-2000 and the present-day twenty-fifth reunion—the book excels at showing how a single evening can warp lives for decades. Staub deftly contrasts teenage bravado with middle-aged regret, letting small inconsistencies in the friends’ memories bloom into full-blown revelations. When a new body surfaces near the mansion ruins, the past crashes into the present with brutal momentum, and the chapters grow deliciously taut—sometimes a mere two pages—propelling readers toward the grisly truth.
Midge, now a police detective, anchors the modern storyline with grit and guilt, while Kelly and Talia provide unreliable counterpoints whose shifting loyalties keep suspicion ping-ponging until the final act. Staub sprinkles misdirection with a seasoned hand; just when you think you’ve decoded Caroline Winterfield’s disappearance, another jagged detail surfaces to reopen the wound.
Yes, The Fourth Girl demands some slogging before the payoff, but those willing to weather the early haze will find a suspense engine that roars once it’s properly fueled. For its razor-sharp second half, evocative dual timelines, and a finale that left my knuckles white, I’m handing it four blood-stained stars on Thrilling Reads. Staub proves again she can make buried secrets scream.
