Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes for Clear Water

About

An atmospheric, mesmerizing novel following one woman’s return to her small town, and the secrets of its haunted past, perfect for fans of Liz Moore and Samantha Schweblin Alma Figueroa is the first person to see a girl in white. Later, more people will claim to have seen the girls: in the snow, in the woods, in the middle of roads. The girls don’t speak, and they don’t match any of the files for the young women who have been disappearing from Brewer, Wisconsin, for years. Rumors quickly spread that these girls aren’t entirely real, that they are dangerous. But Alma knows what she saw, and she begins investigating. Back in high school, Alma’s sister, Kayla, was a girl who disappeared, into an addiction that claimed her life. After that, Alma vowed she would never return to Brewer, but the town has always pulled her back. She fell in love with her husband here, until the darkness of their shared history overwhelmed them. As Alma’s investigation deepens, she begins to uncover secrets the community has been ignoring for too long. These secrets might be able to explain Kayla’s death and Alma’s heartbreak—if Alma can figure out what the girls are trying to tell her in time. Shatteringly beautiful and bracing, raw with grief and love, Clear Water is the story of a woman undone, who is still determined to avenge her losses. Seamlessly interweaving mystery, noir, myth, and horror, this singular novel is a tour de force and a warning: the lost girls of Brewer will not be forgotten. Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes is the author of The Sleeping World and Are We Ever Our Own. She has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, Willapa Bay Artists in Residency, Yaddo, the Millay Colony, Lighthouse Works, and the Blue Mountain Center. She holds a BA from Brown University, an MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a PhD from the University of Georgia. She is an associate professor at the University of Maryland. She lives in Maryland with her family. Vera Kurian is a writer and scientist based in Washington DC. Her debut novel, Never Saw Me Coming (Park Row Books, 2021) was an Edgar Award nominee, was named one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers of 2021, and has sold in 15 countries. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch. Her second novel, A STEP PAST DARKNESS, was published in February of 2024. She has a PhD in Social Psychology, where she studied intergroup relations, ideology, and quantitative methods. She blogs irregularly about writing, horror movies and pop culture/terrible TV. She enjoys existentialism and puppies.