Into the Fall

Former government policy writer Miller debuts with a tepid tale of domestic suspense. By the end of summer 2016 , Sarah and Matthew Anderson’s nine-year marriage is collapsing under the strain of raising two small children. Hoping to brighten the mood, Matthew spearheads a family canoe trip in British Columbia’s Patricia Bay. Things take a disastrous turn, however, when he vanishes in the middle of the night. Horrified, Sarah returns home and recruits her estranged sister to help track him down. While sifting through Matthew’s papers, the women unearth major discrepancies in his past, a discovery that becomes all the more chilling when police fail to find Matthew after an extensive search. Then Sarah’s eight-year-old daughter reveals that she has crucial information about Matthew’s disappearance, and Sarah is left to decide whether she should bring it to the authorities and risk getting her daughter in trouble, or keep quiet and potentially never know the truth about her husband’s fate. Miller’s prose is occasionally arresting, but the plot drags in the middle, giving this the feel of a short story that’s been needlessly stretched to novel length. Readers will be disappointed. Agent: Lori Galvin, Aevitas Creative Management. (Jan.)