Whidbey: A Novel

Whidbey follows three women whose lives intersect through one man. Birdie Chang flees to Whidbey Island to escape her past and Calvin Boyer, a man who abused her as a child. On the ferry, a stranger offers her a proposition involving revenge. Linzie King, a former reality TV star, has recently published a bestselling memoir about her own experiences with Calvin's abuse. When Birdie arrives on the island and reads Linzie's book, she recognizes herself in its pages. Shortly after, Calvin's mother Mary-Beth receives a call from police: her son has been murdered. His death triggers a desperate search for answers from each woman. Told from alternating perspectives, the novel functions as both a complex whodunit and an exploration of violence, justice systems, and rehabilitation. It examines who holds power over a story—the person who lived it or the person who tells it.