The Body Below

From USA Today bestselling author Daniel Hecht, The Body Below takes the reader on an uneasy quest for the nature of truth and who gets to tell it. Perfect for fans of In the Woods by Tana French and The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley.

Conn Whitman's long-distance swims keep him centered and sane—until a terrifying underwater encounter in a woodland lake plunges him into the middle of a murder investigation.

Once a superstar investigative reporter, disgraced by misconduct, Conn returned to his Vermont hometown to put his life back together. Now, after ten years on the job, he knows his community like nobody else. So, when he kicks a submerged object while swimming—something with the density and resilience of human flesh—he immediately wonders if it's connected to an unsolved murder in a nearby town.

Detective Marlene Selanski is the lead on the State Police investigation and soon locks horns with Conn. It's clear she considers him a suspect and believes his "vigilante research" is interfering with her investigation. Defying Selanski, Conn and his fiancée Celine Gabrielli combine their talents—his decade of journalistic research, her PhD in psychology and wealth of knowledge on the traditions of Vermont's old villages—to seek answers on their own.

As layers of deception peel away, Conn and Celine realize too late the dangers of amateur sleuthing—murder disrupts lives in unexpected ways, sending out ripples and bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface.