June 27, 2016
In this gut-wrenching, sometimes gory psychological thriller from Horsley (The Monster’s Wife), Quinn Perkins, a 17-year-old American student who’s boarding with a family, the Blavettes, in tiny St. Roch, France, is hospitalized after emerging from the woods mute and bloody. The Blavettes—mother and father, daughter and son—have disappeared. Molly Swift, an American journalist working for a sensationalist website back home, poses as a relative and gets into Quinn’s hospital room—and her life. Molly sees a great story but then has scruples about Quinn. Can she protect the girl from whatever horrors have overtaken her? When the bodies of the Blavettes are discovered, the authorities think Quinn murdered them. Meanwhile, Molly develops feelings for Valentin, the local policeman. Where does he fit into the big picture? The narrative alternates between the viewpoints of Quinn and Molly, who has the stronger voice, creating something of a structural imbalance. Still, this fierce, convoluted tale offers one surprise after another. Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath (U.K.).