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In debut author Trisha Tobias’ Honeysuckle and Bone, 18-year-old New Yorker Carina Marshall is determined to make a fresh start, having recently experienced an upsetting series of events that culminated in the death of her best friend, Joy; her other friends’ subsequent abandonment of her; and an onslaught of online hate. Awash in guilt and shame, Carina decides a summer au pair job in a gorgeous place is just the thing to help her move on.
Sure, the gig is in Jamaica, her mother’s homeland, which she has forbidden Carina to visit. And yes, the job was actually Joy’s, but since she didn’t meet her soon-to-be employer in person, it’ll be easy for Carina to replace her. What could go wrong?
Well, as any fan of eerie, suspenseful tales knows, plenty—and Honeysuckle and Bone is all the better for it. Carina’s new job at opulent Blackbead House entails caring for Jada and Luis, the younger children of brusqueIan Hall, currently running for prime minister, and his regal wife, Ruth. Carina’s coworkers, who call themselves the Young Birds, are friendly, but a couple of them seem to be hiding secrets of their own as they tend to Blackbead, work fancy campaign events and have fun in between.
Despite her busy days and posh surroundings, Carina begins to feel more and more uneasy. A “strong and sweet” floral scent that “sends heat through [her]” plagues her, and someone—or something—has been leaving her messages that simply, ominously, say “Run.” Despite her handsome, attentive coworker Aaron’s efforts to help her figure out what’s happening, Carina can’t escape the dread she feels as she struggles to discern what is real or imagined, felt or seen. Readers who enjoy twisted thrillers in bright tropical settings will revel in Honeysuckle and Bone’s exploration of the contrast between glittery surfaces and the secrets buried beneath them, between people who live life openly and those haunted by what they have to hide.