Tenderness (Rowan Beaird)

A story of love, liars and secrets . . . Shady, sexy, suspicious - perfect summer holiday reading'
The Times, 2026 Must-Read round-up

Shay was no longer in the cult, but still, it made her wedding guests nervous that she was bringing them to an island . . .

On a remote island off the coast of Virginia, family and friends gather to celebrate the wedding of Shay O'Connor and Andrew Pruitt. From the moment the guests arrive, all they can whisper about is the bride, who recently left the headline-making cult Synanon.

Told from the interwoven perspectives of Shay's brother William, her longtime friend Joel, and Shay herself, this slow-burn mystery excavates dark family histories and romantic regrets. As the wedding approaches, Joel and William pull at the loose threads of Shay's story, and it becomes clear there is an even greater threat on the island than the secrets each character is keeping from one another.

Set in the tinderbox of the 1970s, Tenderness is a lit match, bringing hidden truths to light, and asking if we can ever see ourselves or the people we love for who they truly are.

'INTOXICATING. You'll find yourself turning page after page, utterly swept up in the heady spell it casts, and the emotional heft that rises to an astonishing crescendo' Megan Abbott