Haven

Katz’s eerie sophomore novel (after A Good Man) centers a new mother who starts to fear her husband’s company is a cult. Caroline wants nothing more than to put her and her husband Adam’s financial struggles behind them. When prestigious tech company Corridor offers Adam a job, the couple’s fortunes quickly change. Their debt vanishes, their bank account swells, and Caroline gets pregnant with their first child. But after the baby is born, Adam’s long hours on a top secret project leave Caroline alone to care for the infant. When Adam suggests they join his coworkers on an exclusive island owned and operated by Corridor, Caroline hopes the vacation will bring the family closer. The locals aren’t especially welcoming, however, and as Caroline learns the history of the island, she realizes many of them resent the company for transforming their home. Rumors of rituals and cultish behavior among Corridor employees make her even more uncomfortable. After she wakes up one morning to find her baby missing, she spirals, eventually stumbling on a secret that Corridor’s elites will do anything to keep hidden. Tight plotting and smooth narrative sleight-of-hand set the table for a walloping final few pages. This dark glimpse into maternal anxiety and tech oligarchy enthralls. Agent: Julia Kenny, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Mar.)