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26 Marks
A girl goes missing in Bellhaven, New Hampshire. A cop goes looking.
Officer Wren Whitmore has spent twelve years quietly rebuilding her life around the absence of her sister Lily, who vanished at seventeen on a stretch of road outside town and was never found. She is good at her job. She is not good at much else.
When sixteen-year-old Chloe Decker disappears in October, Wren recognizes something in the case she can't name — not yet. A trusted mentor. An older man. A girl who felt, for the first time, truly seen.
In a town that prefers comfortable explanations, Wren is about to ask the most dangerous question of all: what if the person everyone trusts most is the one nobody should?
26 Marks is a literary thriller about grief, institutional failure, and the cost of silence — for readers of Tana French and Gillian Flynn.
Officer Wren Whitmore has spent twelve years quietly rebuilding her life around the absence of her sister Lily, who vanished at seventeen on a stretch of road outside town and was never found. She is good at her job. She is not good at much else.
When sixteen-year-old Chloe Decker disappears in October, Wren recognizes something in the case she can't name — not yet. A trusted mentor. An older man. A girl who felt, for the first time, truly seen.
In a town that prefers comfortable explanations, Wren is about to ask the most dangerous question of all: what if the person everyone trusts most is the one nobody should?
26 Marks is a literary thriller about grief, institutional failure, and the cost of silence — for readers of Tana French and Gillian Flynn.
279 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 1, 2026
Speechless. This visceral, eerie and addictive story was one I could not put down. It is the best thing I have read in a while, it was everything I’d been looking for in a book. The imagery and writing style only added to the dark and compelling story. I need more by this author now!
June 21, 2026
Goodreads giveaway! I couldn't put this book down!
August 5, 2026
This was a good book with a storyline I really enjoyed. Some sections had slightly rough transitions, but they didn’t take away from the overall experience. I read a first edition, so perhaps there’s still some polishing to be done for the final copy.
June 25, 2026
Goodreads Giveaway-Thank you!
A girl goes missing and is never found. Her sister Lily, Wren has wondered about her for 12 years. Wren grows up becomes a local police officer. Her father passed way worrying about the Lily. Her mother becomes estranged and moves away.
Another girl goes missing and it's Wren's job to figure out what happened to her or find her. She has the feel that the town or Chief wants her to close the case as a runaway. She gets her clues wrong and accuses another officer and is suspended, but she keeps working the case. With the clues and help of others she figures out where the girl is and her sister's body.
I couldn't put this book down, it kept me interested from the first chapter. I will recommend this book to others.
A girl goes missing and is never found. Her sister Lily, Wren has wondered about her for 12 years. Wren grows up becomes a local police officer. Her father passed way worrying about the Lily. Her mother becomes estranged and moves away.
Another girl goes missing and it's Wren's job to figure out what happened to her or find her. She has the feel that the town or Chief wants her to close the case as a runaway. She gets her clues wrong and accuses another officer and is suspended, but she keeps working the case. With the clues and help of others she figures out where the girl is and her sister's body.
I couldn't put this book down, it kept me interested from the first chapter. I will recommend this book to others.
July 29, 2026
Thank you, Goodreads Giveaways, for the ARC of Scott Beckwith's debut novel!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5
📖
What a harrowing debut novel. I finished this in 2 days flat.
I'll admit, my first impression was that the writing might have been AI-assisted because of the frequent use of em dashes. The longer I read, though, the more I realized it was simply Beckwith's writing style. Once I settled into it, it no longer distracted me.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was the non-subtle foreshadowing. It has that "she suspected this person... but she had no idea how wrong she was until it was too late" kind of storytelling. Rather than spoiling the mystery, it builds a constant sense of dread because you know something is coming... you just don't know when or how.
The journey Beckwith takes you on makes you question every interaction you've ever had. It leaves you wondering how well we really know the people around us and what they might be hiding beneath the surface.
It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. If this is the standard Scott Beckwith is setting for himself, I'll absolutely be picking up whatever he writes next.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5
📖
What a harrowing debut novel. I finished this in 2 days flat.
I'll admit, my first impression was that the writing might have been AI-assisted because of the frequent use of em dashes. The longer I read, though, the more I realized it was simply Beckwith's writing style. Once I settled into it, it no longer distracted me.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was the non-subtle foreshadowing. It has that "she suspected this person... but she had no idea how wrong she was until it was too late" kind of storytelling. Rather than spoiling the mystery, it builds a constant sense of dread because you know something is coming... you just don't know when or how.
The journey Beckwith takes you on makes you question every interaction you've ever had. It leaves you wondering how well we really know the people around us and what they might be hiding beneath the surface.
It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. If this is the standard Scott Beckwith is setting for himself, I'll absolutely be picking up whatever he writes next.
August 12, 2026
I was enthralled right away and couldn’t put it down. It was thrilling from start to finish!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews