The Refuge

Name: The Refuge
Price: 64.07 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9798892426817

A Novel

Carly Hillman

$70.95 $64.07

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Crooked Lane Books
08 September 2026

Crime & Mystery

Ava loves the wildlife refuge where she grew up, but the long-buried secrets she discovers there threaten to destroy her family-and the paradise they call home.

But is it really paradise if you're trapped inside?

When wildlife ranger Johnny Hayward discovers a terrified young girl

hiding in the grasses, he joins the tight-knit staff in trying to solve

the mystery of how the girl, Maeve, came to their land. But when the

police arrive, she tells them that Johnny is her father. He goes along

with the lie, a split-second decision that entangles them both in a

lifelong cover-up.

Decades later, Maeve's daughter,

Ava, grows up believing that same lie. Ava's love for the Refuge, where

she lives in the staff cabins with her mother and is training to be a

tour ranger, prevents her from dwelling on the fact that her mother

never leaves the grounds-and won't explain why. But after starting to

date a local boy, Ava begins to question her sheltered upbringing,

shocked to discover that life outside their fences is not the nightmare

her mother always taught her to fear. She is obsessed with answering one

question- What is her mother so afraid of?

Angry

that her mother and Johnny won't give her answers, Ava follows a string

of clues to investigate the disturbing events that led to Maeve's

arrival all those years ago, unearthing secrets that some will do

anything to keep buried.

By: Carly Hillman
Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 209mm, Width: 139mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9798892426817
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 08 September 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Carly Hillman is a writer and Peabody Award-winning television producer. She works at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she produces the interviews. She earned a degree in English from Harvard University, graduating with honors. Carly now lives in Philadelphia with her husband, their daughter, and their cat named Sponge.