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"McCarthy’s The Boy on the Dock is like Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door meets Lisa Jewell’s Then She Was Gone—psychological tension from start to finish!" —Cam Torrens, bestselling author of the Tyler Zahn mystery/suspense series
She came to the lake to grieve alone. What she finds is a terrified boy no one else sees.
Haunted by loss, graphic designer Julie retreats to an isolated lake cabin, desperate for solitude and escape. But grief doesn't stay quiet, and neither does the past. When Julie glimpses a frightened boy on a nearby dock, everything she thought she understood about her reality begins to fracture.
Everyone insists the boy doesn't exist. Her ex-husband thinks she's imagining things. The police are disbelieving. Even Mark, her enigmatic neighbor who seems too eager to help, is unsure. Is she losing her mind, or is someone trying to make her believe she is?
When events turn violent and the truth circles ever closer, Julie considers a harrowing possibility. Not only could the boy be real, but he could be in serious danger—and she might be the only one who can help him.
As her grip on reality frays, Julie must summon every ounce of strength to unravel the mystery and confront the trauma holding her underwater for far too long—because finding and saving the boy might be her only chance to save herself.
A chilling, emotional thriller about grief, obsession, and resilience.