The quest for truth has always taken us to places never before imagined—and often, reveals that the line between truth and lie is not so clear as it may have once seemed. In an age in which truth is blurred beyond recognition, in which elaborate plots, schemes, and illusions undermine the integrity and stability of our lives, Plympton was inspired to examine our modern-day “end of truth” and the ongoing struggle to revive it. What secrets are being concealed? Who is to be trusted? How, if at all, are we to uncover the most dangerous of hidden truths?
To help us explore these questions, we asked six award-winning crime writers to dramatize the end of truth. Hush, a collection of six grippingly urgent and timely short stories, shines a light on the darkest corners of society, in whose shadows secrets hide, conspiracies lurk, and deception runs rampant.
The collection was conceived and edited by Johnathan Santlofer. Santlofer is the author of the bestselling and award-winning novels The Death Artist and Anatomy of Fear, and the celebrated memoir The Widower's Notebook. He has edited seven story collections and the New York Times bestselling serial novel Inherit the Dead. His latest novel The Last Mona Lisa will be published in 2021.
About Hush, Santlofer said “In the age of fake news, the idea of truth seemed to me the perfect subject for stories. What an honor it was to put together this collection and work with these terrific writers, all of whom took my theme of ‘truth’ and used it to create the most fascinating and galvanizing stories.”
The result is a collection of stories that range from the sinister to the spine-tingling, from mystery to thriller, by authors with distinctly different voices and styles but united in their prowess and mastery of suspense.
In “Snowflakes,” Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10 and Snowflakes, details the harrowing account of a young woman who, threatened by an unknown force and pressed by her father’s paranoia, prepares to fend off a violent infiltration of her once sheltered existence.
Winner of the Anthony Award for Best First Novel and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for My Sister, The Serial Killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite explores the ominous side of social media fame with “Treasure,” in which one woman’s quest for online notoriety lands her in the path of a desperate fan—one willing to do anything it takes to get to her.
Laura Lippman, bestselling author of Lady in the Lake and winner of over twenty awards for crime fiction, brings us “Slow Burner,” an unflinching gaze at the disintegration of a marriage and the secrets that threaten to rend it apart.
Author of The Goodbye Man and more than forty other internationally bestselling novels, Jeffrey Deaver takes us back to the days of old-school, mano a mano reporting. “Buried” follows soon to be retired journalist Edward Fitzhugh through a maze of riddles, clues, and lies on his hunt for a serial kidnapper and, ultimately, the final, best story of his career.
“The Gift,” by bestselling author of If I Die Tonight Alison Gaylin, is the disquieting account of an eight-year-old child gone missing. Left with no choice but to consult a mysterious psychic for answers, the desperate parents are forced to question the limits of their trust and the measures—supernatural and otherwise—they’ll take to bring back their daughter.
In the collection’s final story, “Let Her Be,” Lisa Unger, bestselling author of Confessions on the 7:45, tells the story of a suspicious ex-boyfriend seeking to confirm his theory that his former lover isn’t leading the perfect life she portrays on social media—only to find she may not be the only one in danger.
Hush is available for purchase as a Kindle eBook and an Audible audiobook, and free to download for all Amazon Prime members. It is the fourth collection of stories Plympton has conceived, commissioned, and edited in collaboration with Amazon Original Stories. Previous collections include Warmer, a collection of climate fiction; Disorder, a collection of social suspense stories; and Inheritance, a collection about family secrets.