THE RETURN

Julie is missing. Probably dead. That's what everyone thinks - everyone except Elise. Elise feels in her bones Julie is still out there, even if their other two close friends from college, Molly and Mae, think she's crazy.

Elise isn't crazy-- she's right. When Julie reappears after two years with no memory of where she's been, the foursome decides to reunite at the Red Honey Inn. The hotel offers a charming backdrop for their reunion, but the joy of Julie's return quickly dims. There are the obvious changes, from her gaunt frame, to her chipped and rotting teeth, to her appetite for meat after a lifelong aversion, but it's more than that.

When bad weather traps them inside, the dynamic among the friends becomes laced with anxiety. Everything in the hotel takes on a menacing quality: the scratching within the walls, the slither of shadows cast by nothing. When it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who returned, Elise will have to decide if she wants to save their friendship or save herself.

Rachel Harrison was born and raised in the weird state of New Jersey. She received her Bachelor's in Writing for Film & Television from Emerson College. After graduating, she worked on TV game shows, in publishing, and for a big bank. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their cat/overlord. This is her first novel.