My Sister Came Back Alone. Blackwater County, #2

She came back. They didn't. When Emily Pruitt returns alone from a family camping trip in the Appalachian mountains, she claims her husband, Aaron, and thirteen-year-old son, Ben, drove back separately. But her sister Kate, a meticulous county clerk, immediately notices the discrepancies. Emily's clothes are unsoiled, and she is wearing her missing son's shoes. As the police investigation intensifies, Emily plays the victim, alleging Aaron abandoned her.
However, Kate hides a dangerous secret. For months, she has received covert letters from Ben documenting Emily's terrifying pattern of fabricating his illnesses for attention. To protect the boy, Kate helped Aaron orchestrate a desperate rescue plan involving a hidden cabin and withdrawn cash. The plan has failed. Aaron has fled alone, leaving Ben behind. With Emily spinning a web of lies to control the police narrative, Kate must untangle the truth, face her own complicity, and find her nephew before it's too late.