You'll Be Sorry
Raquel and Theo Collins, a newlywed couple scarred by a recent tragedy and burdened by their own carefully guarded secrets, believe a remote lodge in the New Hampshire mountains offers a chance to begin anew. The renowned designer and the brash financier hope to outrun their past, but some shadows are inescapable.
Their new home, the once-grand Dixon family lodge, holds a horrifying secret of its own. Thirty years ago, on a late August night, the entire Dixon family - parents and four children - vanished without a trace, leaving behind only bloody footprints and a mystery that has haunted the quiet town of Shereford ever since. Now, with the Collinses' arrival, the long-dormant lodge begins to stir, and so does its chilling history.
Shereford's recently appointed police chief, Amanda Grady, sees a fresh start for the derelict estate. Yet, not everyone welcomes new faces to a town steeped in generations of unspoken truths. When a stray dog unearths a skeleton on the property, the past erupts, forcing Raquel and Theo to question everything - and everyone - around them.
As the terrifying events of three decades ago begin to unravel, the Collinses must decide what to believe, who to trust, and how to survive. Because in Shereford, the local residents, the new neighbors, and the fledgling police chief are all entangled in a decades-old web of deception, and the time has come for the truth. Or else... you'll be sorry.
- Theo Collins - Investment guru, Raquel’s husband
- Raquel (Bunny) - Interior decorator, Theo’s wife
- Betty - Friend of Mandy, 76
- Mandy Grady - Police chief in Shereford, Ian’s daughter
- Ian Grady - Former police chief of Shereford
- Sam Adams - Cold case detective
- Mr. Man - Theo’s dog
- Mason - President of the historical society
- Austin Dekes - Fire chief
- Dr. Debs - Bioarchaeologist
- Hannah Dixon - Woman in the photo inside Raquel’s locket
- Charlie - Raquel’s younger brother
- Isla - The witch of the woods
- Dog - Stray dog in Shereford
- Dave Dixon - Janet’s husband
- Janet - Dave’s wife
- Henry - Dave and Janet’s son, 12
- Violet - Dave and Janet’s daughter, 10
- Josie - Dave and Janet’s daughter, 8
- William - Dave and Janet’s son, 6
- When Raquel was sixteen, she discovered four shoeboxes in her mother’s closet containing the bodies of babies her mother had given birth to and left there to die. When Raquel realized her mother had started poisoning her younger brother, she killed her with an axe.
- Raquel spent two years in a rehab facility and faced no criminal charges.
- Thirty years after the Dixon family disappeared, Mandy is the police chief when Theo and Raquel move into the Dixon family’s former property.
- The only clue is the bloody footprints left in the house, which were inconclusive for DNA.
- Theo finds a dog on his porch and names him Mr. Man.
- Mr. Man discovers a man-made well behind the Collins’ property containing human bones and a sealed crockery jar.
- Raquel previously suffered two miscarriages and a baby girl who was stillborn.
- Raquel owns an antique locket she found in a store. Inside is a photo of Hannah Dixon holding her deceased infant.
- Discovering Hannah’s identity is what led Raquel to move to the Dixon property and investigate the family’s disappearance.
- The bones from the well are from a female aged 18-25.
- Inside the crockery jar is a town ledger from 1790 belonging to Rita Louise Light and the skeletal remains of an infant.
- Betty finds a personal diary written by the same Rita who kept the ledger.
- Betty and Mason find records of five infants who were born and died within 24 hours that appear in Rita’s ledger but not in the official genealogy records.
- Mandy discovers there is a hermit named Isla who lives in a cabin in the woods near the Collins’ home.
- Mr. Man leads Mandy and Raquel to a cave in the woods where they find bones and five human skulls.
- Theo discovers invisible writing in Rita’s diary stating that the five unrecorded infants were believed by their mothers to be Satan’s children and were rejected by them.
- These women were the victims of rape and they did not want to keep the children of their rapists.
- Isla tells Mandy that only four babies died because Rita smuggled Isla, the fifth infant, to safety.
- The morning the Dixons disappeared, Mason broke into the Dixon home to steal Rita’s journal from Janet because he believed it contained clues to a cache of lost Continental currency.
- Mason stepped on a toy and cut his foot, creating the larger bloody footprints.
- What happened to the Dixons: Austin was driving drunk when he struck Josie with his car, believing she was a deer. Afterwards, he thought bears were attacking him, fired four shots, accidentally shooting Josie, and fled. Dave returned home with Josie and found Mason emerging from the house after breaking in to steal Rita’s diary. Mason panicked and shot Dave. When the rest of the Dixon family appeared, he shot them as well.
- Isla discovered the bodies of the Dixon family, hid them in the cave and took the still-living William to her cabin and nursed him back to health.
- Isla made the smaller bloody footprints in the Dixon home to muddy the crime scene.
- Isla gave William to her mother, and he was eventually adopted.
- Detective Adams is William.
- Mason is arrested for murdering the Dixon family.
- Isla is facing criminal charges for concealing the murders and tampering with evidence.
- Isla tells Mandy that after hiding the Dixon family in the cave, she took the continental currency and burned it all.
The core premise of You'll Be Sorry offers a remarkably strong hook that sets the stage for a tense mystery. The truth about what led Raquel and Theo to purchase the Dixon property is beautifully tragic, adding a nice emotional element. I also appreciated the sharp dialogue sprinkled throughout the chapters. The characters drop several sassy comments that had me chuckling much more than average for a thriller.
Unfortunately, that early momentum does not hold steady. The narrative drags in quite a few places, and once the plot twists start leaning into far-fetched territory, it becomes difficult to stay fully invested. The story takes a distinct turn into the supernatural, which is an element I actively dislike in my thrillers. What begins as a grounded setup gradually loses its footing as the logic stretches a bit too thin. The conclusion struggles to pull it all back together, relying heavily on a massive information dump to tie up the loose ends instead of letting the resolution unfold naturally.
If you like slow burn mysteries, small town secrets, and supernatural twists, then you will enjoy this book.
- Charlie - Dead - Poisoned with rat poison by his mother
- Mason - Alive - Facing life in prison for murdering the Dixon family
- Isla - Alive - Facing criminal charges for concealing a murder and tampering with evidence
- Mandy - Alive - Still serving as police chief of Shereford
- Theo - Alive - Planning to fix up their house and live there
- Raquel - Alive - Planning to fix up their house and live there
- Death
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Rape
ISBN: 9781538765142
Publication Date: August 4, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
