When I was living in Paris after my second divorce, I spent my days shopping, lunching, and lounging. Then came March 2020, when I was summoned back to my Hudson Valley hometown because my widowed mother was ill. At the time, I thought it was terrible timing. Stranded by the global pandemic, floored by my mom’s dementia diagnosis, I could no longer run from the past.

All I could do was think about my lost friends—Caroline Winterfield, who disappeared on prom night in 1999, and Midge Kennedy and Talia Shaw, from whom I’ve been estranged ever since then. We couldn’t agree about whether to keep Caroline’s secret, as we’d promised. We never told.

Back home, I was drawn to Haven Cliff, the last place Caroline was ever seen. Her ancestor Asa Winterfield built the estate on an old burial ground the 1890s. When he and his wife were murdered there, leaving their seven children orphaned, everyone said the property was cursed. In the early 1900s, it became a tuberculosis sanitorium, and in the 1930s, it was a so-called “lunatic asylum.” Then it was abandoned and fell to ruins, a party spot for local teenagers—including Caroline, Talia, Midge, and me.

Four years later, I’ve reconciled with Midge, now Mulberry Bay’s police chief, and Talia, now married and living in the New York suburbs. And Haven Cliff belongs to me.

I’ve rebuilt the mansion and restored the interior, using period photos from the historical society’s archives. It looks like it did when the Winterfields moved in, with period wallpaper, fixtures, draperies, and antiques, some of which were actually in their home.

At last, the mansion is a gleaming replica of the Gilded Age showplace it once was, ready to be bestowed upon a far more deserving Winterfield heir.

Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Caroline’s disappearance. Tonight, Midge, Talia, and I will be reunited at Haven Cliff. We’ll be waiting, just in case Caroline comes home at last.

Mid-morning, I’m putting the finishing touches on the mansion when Midge unexpectedly shows up with shocking news. Gordy Klatte, Caroline’s long-ago boyfriend, was just found dead in an accidental fall…or was it?

Given the date, Midge and I aren’t so sure.

And would you believe a stranger just dropped off an envelope addressed to me—with nothing inside but a playing card? A two of spades. It would only have meaning to me, Midge, Talia…and Caroline. Turns out Midge and Talia got them, too.

I squeeze in a visit to my mom. Some days, she’s her old self. Other days, she’s confused, or living in the past, thinking I’m still young and that Daddy is still alive. Today is one of those days.

Not only does she think I’m in high school, but she tells me Caroline was here last night. I write it off as the dementia…until I remember the security cameras we installed to keep mom safe.

Sure enough, there was a visitor last night..and she looks just like Caroline. And I thought I was seeing things, but I’m pretty sure someone’s lurking in the woods at Haven Cliff, watching the house. Watching me.

What if Caroline is back? What if she killed Gordy? And what if those playing cards are a warning…that Midge, Talia and I are next?

The Fourth Girl: A Haven Cliff Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Suspense
Release: April 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

On the anniversary of a teen’s disappearance, three friends face a deadly hometown reunion in this twisty suspense novel by a New York Times bestselling author.

On prom night, Caroline Winterfield walked away from the ruins of an abandoned mansion called Haven Cliff and into the woods…never to be seen again. Only her three best friends know what really happened. But a secret is a secret, and a promise is a promise―even when it shatters lifelong friendships.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, Midge, Kelly, and Talia reunite at Haven Cliff, now a gleaming architectural jewel. But they aren’t alone. Someone is watching. Someone who knows what really happened to Caroline―and to the man who now lies dead a stone’s throw from where she was last seen.

Police detective Midge knows she’s dealing with a murder the moment she sees the item clutched in his lifeless hand. Only three other people in the world would grasp its significance. That means Kelly and Talia are either involved or in danger, because Caroline is long gone…or is she?

About the author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub has published over 100 novels under her own name and various pseudonyms including Wendy Markham. The seventh title in her Lily Dale Mystery series is TOIL AND TROUBLE (Severn House, July 2024), and her psychological suspense novel THE FOURTH GIRL (Thomas & Mercer, April 2025 will be followed by a sequel, THE LOST SUMMER (Thomas & Mercer, April 2026).