A dark atmospheric psychological thriller packed with small-town secrets, buried trauma, and shocking twists.

She escaped her past—and the man she never forgot.
Now with two girls missing, she’s pulled back into a deadly game she may not survive.

Jillian Thorne built her career making the unreal feel real.
On Hollywood soundstages, she stages murder, kidnapping, and violent crime with chilling authenticity—turning fiction into gripping entertainment.

But nothing she’s created compares to the truth waiting in Blue Gil.
Nearly six years after escaping her small hometown, Jillian is drawn back by the suspicious death of the town’s beloved high school football coach. What first appears to be a tragic loss quickly unravels into something far more sinister—a dark mystery no one is willing to confront.

Because in Blue Gil, secrets aren’t just buried… they’re protected.
As disturbing clues surface and a brutal tragedy strikes dangerously close to home, Jillian finds herself trapped inside a real-life psychological thriller. The instincts that made her successful in Hollywood may be the key to solving the crime—or the very thing clouding her judgment.

Everyone in this small town is hiding something.
Including Jillian.

To uncover the truth, she must break through an unspoken code of silence, deception, and loyalty—and face the past she thought she left behind. Because some secrets refuse to stay buried.

And in this twisted game of suspense, trusting the wrong person could be deadly.

Amazon | Goodreads

Jillian is returning home the first time in six years, back to the hometown she has avoided, because the local football coach has died and she wants to find out the truth. From the get go it appears to be a simple mystery of finding out who killed the coach, but it’s so much more than that. Jillian soon realizes that while she’s from Blue Gil, she’s still being treated as an outsider and coming up against a lot of dead ends in her search for the truth.

I’m not going to give details but things swiftly take a turn and suddenly there are many more secrets to uncover other than just those related to the coach’s death…and why Jillian felt the need to return.

This book is full of twists and turns, a few well placed red herrings and tons of secrets to uncover – not just the town’s secrets, but Jillian’s as well. I will say I figured out pretty early on what happened to the coach, but the reveals (yes, there are multiple) still packed a punch and contained some surprises. Jillian as a character is complex, as she’s coming to terms with her past and motivations while also reconciling who she is now to people she’s known her entire life. Her family dynamics are pretty messy, but the reasons for that do also get revealed.

Romig’s writing was really easy to get into and once I got about 30-40% into the book I could not put it down. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her writing in the future as this was a really enjoyable read.

Happy reading!

*Disclaimer: Amazon links included may be affiliate links that I receive a commission on if purchased through.