Successful psychologist Cal Henderson has a busy practice in Washington, DC, good friends, and big plans for the future. But he can’t escape a terrible secret.

When he was a boy, his mother murdered his father and two brothers and severely wounded Cal’s best friend, Scottie Glass. Desperate to keep the nightmare at bay, Cal has turned his back on everything that happened that night.

Then on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the traumatic event, Scottie shows up at Cal’s office—edgy, paranoid, but somehow still the loveable kid he once was. Though their lives have taken very different paths, they both believe Cal’s mother couldn’t have been a murderer. She loved them too much, no matter what dark place she found herself in. They set off to dig up the real story.

In his search for answers he uncovers secrets about his mother’s life involving a defense contractor’s dark dealings, a nominee for U.S. Attorney with a questionable past, and a shady corporate billionaire whose sphere of influence seems to include everyone from the Pentagon on down.

Meanwhile, as Cal gets closer to discovering the truth, recovered memories of his childhood push him into a psychological tailspin.

“Do you think you know what your own mother might do? The Survivors is an up-close-and-personal mystery—the best suspense I’ve read this year. It will haunt you.”
—DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series

“A superb mystery, seething with psychological intrigue and rich, deeply layered characters. Palmer’s masterful control of suspense and his complex plots and subplots pull the reader through the novel at a lightning pace and prove that he is a writer to watch. This is a terrific read.”
—ALLEN ESKENS, Edgar® Award–nominated author of The Life We Bury and The Guise of Another

“The Survivors is the very definition of a page-turner.”
—DANA STABENOW, Edgar® Award–winning bestselling author of the Kate Shugak series

“The Survivors is sharply plotted and riveting—deliciously spiced with all the ingredients that make for masterful suspense.”
—LYNN SHOLES, coauthor of the bestselling Cotten Stone mysteries and Maxine Decker thrillers