The Good Son

A Novel

by Jacquelyn Mitchard

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Pub Date Jan 18 2022 | Archive Date Feb 11 2022

Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA

Women's Fiction

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Description

“Rich and complex, The Good Son is a compelling novel about the aftermath of a crime in a small, close-knit community.”—Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard comes the gripping, emotionally charged novel of a mother who must help her son after he is convicted of a devastating crime.

What do you do when the person you love best becomes unrecognizable to you? For Thea Demetriou, the answer is both simple and agonizing: you keep loving him somehow.

Stefan was just seventeen when he went to prison for the drug-fueled murder of his girlfriend, Belinda. Three years later, he’s released to a world that refuses to let him move on. Belinda’s mother, once Thea’s good friend, galvanizes the community to rally against him to protest in her daughter’s memory. The media paints Stefan as a symbol of white privilege and indifferent justice. Neighbors, employers, even some members of Thea's own family turn away.

Meanwhile Thea struggles to understand her son. At times, he is still the sweet boy he has always been; at others, he is a young man tormented by guilt and almost broken by his time in prison. But as his efforts to make amends meet escalating resistance and threats, Thea suspects more forces are at play than just community outrage. And if there is so much she never knew about her own son, what other secrets has she yet to uncover—especially about the night Belinda died?

Advance Praise

"Rich and complex, The Good Son is a compelling novel about the aftermath of a crime in a small, close-knit community.”
—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This novel, about a family and a community wracked by grief, regret, and rage over the murder of a teenage girl, is gripping, heart-rending, and quietly devastating.”
--Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"The Good Son is very good indeed. This artfully-written novel begins by asking deep family questions about how we can accept the worst about those we love—and then, unexpectedly, turns into a galloping thriller. A remarkable book.”
—Scott Turow, New York Times bestselling author

“Rooted in compassion and curiosity, The Good Son is an engrossing story about forgiveness, redemption, and unconditional love.”
—Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice and Remember.

“Tender, poignant and impossible to put down... I was hooked from the very first sentence.”
—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

“Not since THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN has Mitchard so profoundly examined the layered motherhood narrative. THE GOOD SON is timely, gripping, suspenseful, and resonant. Mitchard’s best yet by far.”
--Karin Slaughter, New York Times Bestselling Author

“Propulsive, complex and deeply moving, THE GOOD SON may well be Mitchard's finest work yet. I loved this book!”
– Karen Dionne, author of the #1 international bestseller The Marsh King's Daughter and The Wicked Sister

"Rich and complex, The Good Son is a compelling novel about the aftermath of a crime in a small, close-knit community.”
—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This novel, about a family...