Harmless

A gripping novel full of unpredictable turns told in the voices of three girls who must learn to live with the lies they tell.

There was a man. He had a knife. He attacked us down by the river. It was just a harmless little lie. Anna, Emma, and Mariah concoct a story about why they are late getting home one Friday night—a story that will replace their parents' anger with concern. They just have to stand by it. No matter what. What happens next challenges their friendship, their community, their relationships with their families, and their sense of themselves. Suddenly the police are involved, and the town demands that someone be punished for threatening their children. And then there is the man who is arrested and accused of a crime that never happened. What happens in this novel shows the harm one lie can do. Praise for Dana Reinhardt "An enormously talented writer."—KLIATT, starred review