The Five Year Lie

Fans of Bowen’s contemporary romances (Him; I’m Your Guy) will find exactly what they came for in her latest romantic thriller. Bowen’s website offers a “find a book by its trope” feature; this one could fall in the “he isn’t who he says he is,” “single moms,” or “workplace romance” categories. Ariel Cafferty is the mother of an adorable, somewhat shy four-year old, Buzz. She works as an office manager at Chime Co., the tech company founded by her uncle and her late father, which designs and markets home surveillance cameras. Ariel would much rather be pursuing a career as a glass artist, but after she was ghosted by handsome Chime Co. programmer Drew Miller five years before, she found herself pregnant and now has Buzz to consider—but she can’t stop thinking about Drew and their passionate connection, his disappearance remains a mystery. Then Ariel gets a bizarre text message, purportedly from Drew. Did he discover something while working at Chime Co. that put him in danger? Are Ariel and Buzz in danger now? Who is watching them, and why?