Behind the Red Door: A Novel

Megan Collins

Aug 2020 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“A haunting thriller” (PopSugar) about a woman who believes that she has a connection to a decades old kidnapping and begins a frantic investigation to find out what really happened when the victim goes missing again.

When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.

Returning to her childhood home to help her father pack for a move, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. With the help of her psychologist father, Fern digs deeper, hoping to find evidence that her connection to Astrid can help the police locate her. But when Fern discovers more about her own past than she ever bargained for, the disturbing truth will change both of their lives forever in this “masterful meditation on fear” (Mindy Mejia, author of Strike Me Down).

Ratings and reviews

Fern Douglas hears the news about Astrid Sullivan. Astrid was kidnapped 20 years ago and was returned. Now it appears that she has been kidnapped for a second time. Fern doesn't know Astrid .. or at least she doesn't remember knowing her. But Astrid is starring in Fern's nightmares... a girl reaching out to her for help. Fern is afraid that it is a memory and not a dream While helping her father pack up to move, Fern comes across a book written by Astrid. Fern is surprised to note that she has a connection to the missing woman. Investigating on her own, Fern discovers more about her past that she never knew. The troubling truth will change both their lives forever. Will what she remembers about the first kidnapping help find Astrid now? Full of twists and turns, this is well-written, full of angst, anxiety, emotion on several levels. The characters are deftly drawn amid a storm of suspense that starts on the very first page and doesn't let up until the unexpected and surprising conclusion. Many thanks to the author/ Atria Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Megan Collins is the author of Thicker Than Water, The Family Plot, Behind the Red Door, and The Winter Sister. She taught creative writing for many years at both the high school and college level and is the managing editor of 3Elements Literary Review. She lives in Connecticut, where she obsesses over dogs, miniatures, and cake.