The Thing That Happened When We Were Little

16 years after surviving a childhood abduction, three women struggle with whether they should keep the dangerous secret of how they survived from their image-obsessed town or unleash it on the predators of their adult life.

Welcome to Moss Groves, the home of Scared.

For a family as wealthy and powerful as the Montgomerys, secrets are as simple as syrup. But there was never anything simple about Ida. First, there were violent tantrums. Then, the drawings of dismembered bodies. Then the things she did to the animals. The Montgomerys didn't just need to hide what their nine-year-old daughter did; they needed to hide what she was. Enter Ella and Susan-Eva. Two little girls the Montgomerys challenged to act as Ida's conscience. It worked. Until the three of them got abducted by a serial killer. They survived, but the real story of how is one they agreed never to tell.

Sixteen years later, they still live together in one of the Montgomerys' historic mansions. They're fine. Ida is engaged, Ella works at the university, and Susan-Eva is getting her PhD. Sure, Ella's boyfriend is kind of a jerk, and for reasons no one understands, Susan-Eva broke up with the love of her life, but Ida's life seems perfect.

No one would guess that one of them was assaulted a few months ago, one of them committed a felony, or that one of them is dying. On top of all that, there are rumors a copycat killer is on the loose. Secrets surface, love triangles abound, and things get bloody in the first book of the SCARED trilogy.

About the Author

As the daughter of a college football coach, Franklin lived in her fair share of small towns. Growing up, she struggled with the relationship between tradition and trauma in the South but learned never to underestimate the value of Southern grit, especially after moving to NYC. Her work spans genres and mediums but always searches for the heart, humor, and heat in every story.