Spotlight: Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone
/A mother and daughter in hiding are threatened by more than secrets and lies in a twisting novel of paranoia, revenge, and psychological suspense by bestselling author Douglas Corleone.
For two years, Kati Dawes and her teenage daughter, Zoe, have lived off the grid in Hawaii, hiding from a past Kati must forget as if her life depends on it. New names. Anonymous online presence. So far, safe. Until Kati’s fiancé, attorney Eddie Akana, disappears along a popular hiking trail in a Maui national park. Now all eyes are on Kati. Exposure can make a woman with so many secrets very paranoid.
Eddie’s law partner, Noah Walker, is doing everything he can to protect his new client from the press that’s hovering like a vulture and the authorities whose suspicions about Kati―and the disappearance―are rising. Then suddenly, Zoe goes missing as well. Kati will risk anything to find her. But the worst is still to come. Because Kati’s not the only one with secrets. And buried among them is a twist she never saw coming.
Excerpt
Text copyright © 2025 by Douglas Corleone, Published by Thomas & Mercer
Zoe
Eddie’s gone missing and Mom is a mess. I hate knowing she’s in such agony. Each minute that passes without news cracks my heart a little more, despite our marathon battles, despite our endless war. She’s as terrified and anxious as the day we ran away from home. I’m afraid this time she’s going to lose it.
I know it’s been months since I last spoke to you but only because I need to keep you hidden. If Mom knew I kept you, she’d kill me. But you’re my only true friend. Certainly the only one I can speak to. If I don’t get these thoughts out of my head, I’ll go as batty and erratic as she has.
Poor Mom. The paranoia, the confusion, the forgetfulness. Still, she flat out refuses to see a therapist. Even Eddie can’t talk her into it, and he can talk her into virtually anything.
I miss Eddie already, so I can’t imagine what hell Mom’s going through. I expected her to finally turn to me, but she’s called only once in the past ten hours—just once to tell me Eddie went missing. I’ve tried calling her every half hour. She keeps sending my calls to voicemail. She’s not returning my texts.
I intend to be there for her. She’s my mom. Part of me is angry at her—all right, hates her—but another part loves her to death. I wish things could be different. I wish she could be different. But it’s almost as if she’s embracing her paranoia, as if she’s welcoming oblivion. Which, I suppose, shouldn’t be too shocking given the past. The past she wants to forget. The past she insists I forget.
Hopefully, Eddie will be found quickly. I think Mom’s greatest fear is that he’ll never be found at all. I can’t say I blame her. If something happened to the love of my life . . .
Shit, it’s late AF and getting dark. They’re probably suspending the search for the day. Mom could be home any moment.
Time for you to return to your hiding spot.
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About the Author
Douglas Corleone is the international bestselling author of Gone Cold, Payoff, and Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Equation, as well as the acclaimed Kevin Corvelli novels, the Simon Fisk international thrillers, and the stand-alone courtroom drama The Rough Cut. Corleone’s debut novel, One Man’s Paradise, won the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award and was a finalist for the 2011 Shamus Award for Best First Novel. A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Corleone now resides in Honolulu, where he is currently at work on his next novel. For more information, visit www.douglascorleone.com.