Will I Be Next?
The secret was buried three decades ago when six children sent their Sunday school teacher to prison. Now, two of those witnesses are dead. Accident, suicide – or murder?
Faith never expected Jacob to reappear, a ghost from her past bearing a chilling warning: "Someone is picking us off." He was one of the six. She hasn’t seen him since they were ten year old children, and his sudden return feels as unsettling as the threat itself.
Then a sinister letter arrives, a clear message that someone is watching her. Watching her son. Is her child now a target because of a truth buried decades ago? Can Faith trust the man who vanished and reappeared, or is the real danger closer than she thinks? As the body count rises, Faith must confront a past far darker than she remembers. Will she be next?
- Faith - One of the Sunday School Six, 39
- Ryan - Faith’s son, 19
- Jacob - One of the Sunday School Six, 41
- Rob - One of the Sunday School Six, 41
- Kate - Rob’s wife
- Charlotte - One of the Sunday School Six, 39
- Jenny - One of the Sunday School Six, 39
- Paul - One of the Sunday School Six, 37
- Martin - Sunday school teacher
- Vicky - Paul’s wife
- Nick - Martin’s son
- Diane - Faith’s mother
- Harriet - Rob’s mother
- Marianne - Former journalist
- Pete - Rob’s father
- Now: Jacob tells Faith that Jenny committed suicide a few months ago and Paul was killed in a hit and run a few weeks ago.
- Jacob is afraid someone is picking off the Sunday School Six children; Jenny, Paul, Faith, Rob, Charlotte and himself.
- A year after the trial, Harriet and Jacob’s father were married briefly.
- Faith gets in touch with Rob, who says he’s fine and that Charlotte is living on a commune.
- Then: During Sunday school, Martin would take the children individually into a room away from the class.
- Now: Rob goes missing.
- Police locate Rob’s car.
- Then: Faith is questioned by police about Martin taking the children into the church basement individually.
- She tells police that he taught her calligraphy when she was alone with him in the church basement.
- The other five children tell police that Martin molested them.
- Faith speaks to police a second time and gives an account more consistent with the other five children.
- Martin is found guilty, goes to prison and kills himself a year later.
- Rob tells Faith that Harriet was sleeping with Martin and Pete was angry about the affair.
- Faith gets a call saying that Jacob visited Diane at her nursing home and really upset her.
- Faith confronts Jacob who says he did not go visit Diane.
- Police find Rob’s body.
- Karen tells Faith that people in the church thought Diane was sleeping with Martin.
- Jacob is found dead.
- Faith asks Diane if Martin is her biological father, but Diane doesn’t give an answer.
- Then: After Faith’s first police interview, Rob visited her at home and insisted that Charlotte and Jenny said Martin made them take off their dresses when they were alone with him and that Faith needed to ‘tell the truth’ to protect them.
- Now: Faith and Charlotte go to Kate’s house.
- Someone sends Faith a message with a recording of Pete’s visit to Faith. It was a cassette tape stolen from Diane.
- Charlotte confirms that Pete visited her and told her the same thing.
- Pete did it to get rid of Martin because he knew Martin was sleeping with Harriet.
- Kate drugs Faith and Charlotte’s tea and takes them to the church basement.
- Faith escapes and runs into Rob.
- Rob and Kate were in on it together.
- Rob is the one who went to Diane’s nursing home pretending to be Jacob and stole the cassette tape.
- Rob says Harriet recently returned from Australia and told him that Pete made all six children lie about Martin because of Harriet’s affair with him.
- Martin is Rob’s biological father, so Rob is taking revenge on everyone who sent Martin to prison.
- Nick shows up and rescues Faith and Charlotte as Rob sets fire to the church.
- Rob and Kate escape from the church.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this title.
The premise of childhood witnesses being targeted thirty years after sending their Sunday school teacher to prison is a great setup, but the execution struggled to hold my attention. Told entirely from Faith’s point of view in the present day with just a few brief flashbacks, the story involves a surprisingly cluttered cast. Keeping track of everyone was a chore, especially trying to remember which parents belonged to which member of the original six kids. That confusion made an already slow pace drag even more.
As a protagonist, Faith felt flat and lacked the distinct personality needed to make me root for her. With pretty much everyone in the book lying or hiding something, none of the characters ended up being particularly likable or sympathetic.
The mystery itself relies on a ton of red herrings, but they didn't pay off in a satisfying way. When the answers finally came, the explanations felt weak and hastily brushed aside rather than clever. Between the sluggish build-up and a main twist that was easy to guess way before the end, the final reveal just fell flat. It was an okay read, but ultimately too predictable to leave much of an impression.
If you like childhood secrets resurfacing, single POV mysteries, and lots of red herrings, then you may enjoy this book.
#NetGalley #WillIBeNext
- Jenny - Dead - Killed by Rob
- Paul - Dead - Hit and run by Rob
- Rob - Alive - On the run from police
- Kate - Alive - On the run from police
- Martin - Dead - Hanged himself while in prison
- Pete - Dead - Died by suicide
- Jacob - Dead - Killed by Rob
- Charlotte - Alive - Returned to the commune
- Faith - Alive - Ready to put the past behind her
- Nick - Alive - Ready to make amends with Faith
- Suicide
- Child molestation
- Murder
- Cancer
- Fire
ISBN: 9781807222536
Publication Date: October 21, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
