Providence
A journey of two best friends that is part love story, part detective story, and part supernatural thriller, from the acclaimed author of YOU, whose work Stephen King describes as “hypnotic and totally original.”
Growing up as best friends in small-town New Hampshire, Jon and Chloe are the only ones who truly understand each other and their intense connection. But just when Jon is ready to confess the depth of his feelings, he’s kidnapped by his substitute teacher, a discredited scientist who is obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft and has a plot to save humanity.
After four years in captivity, Jon finally escapes, only to discover that he now has an uncontrollable power that endangers anyone he has intense feelings for. He runs away to Providence to protect Chloe while he searches for answers. Across town from Jon, Detective Charles “Eggs” DeBenedictus is fascinated by a series of strange deaths–young, healthy people whose hearts just . . . stop. Convinced these deaths are a series of connected, vigilante killings, he jeopardizes his job and already strained marriage to uncover the truth.
With heart, insight, and a keen eye on human frailty, Kepnes whisks us on a journey through New England and crashes these characters’ lives together in the most unexpected ways, exploring the complex relationship between the powerful and the powerless, love and identity, self-preservation and self-destruction, and how the lines are often blurred between the two.
Reviews for Providence by Caroline Kepnes
“Say it with me now: Caroline Kepnes is the master of the depraved love story. Providence is a novel that kept me up at night with characters that made my heart a little bigger. A dark beauty of a book.”
–Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and forthcoming The Favorite Sister
“Providence is a novel that doesn’t fit into one box—it’s tender and dark, eerie and cool, heartbreaking but also an affirmation of the power of love. Caroline perfectly captures each character’s struggle and pain in such a unique, unconventional way that every page—every sentence—was a delightful surprise. I loved every minute of it!”
–Sara Shepard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars
“There is something for every reader in these pages—thrills, chills, and a complex love story. Kepnes is a writer to add to your must-read pile.”
– Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of I Know a Secret
“An artist, a mutated vigilante, a charming hunter, a sickly detective and a literary lunatic: Kepnes brings them together in a propulsive and original story. It kept me up at night, scared and thinking.”
— E. Lockhart, author of Genuine Fraud and We Were Liars
“Caroline Kepnes’s Providence is an inventive, dark fairy tale/love story for the 21st Century. A compulsively readable novel about the complexity of love, relationships, and monsters we allow ourselves to become. Plus, I have a new favorite character named Eggs.”
–Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and A Cabin at the End of the World
“The infinite talent of Caroline Kepnes shines through every page of this extraordinary tale. Equal parts tender, magical and eerie, Providence is sure to be one of the best thrillers of the year.”
–Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl
“Told in her unique style, Caroline Kepnes has stretched and reimagined what a paranormal thriller can be. Propulsive, creepy, and entertaining, Providence is a modern mystery from a gifted storyteller.”
–Iain Reid, author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things
“With Providence, Caroline Kepnes has created something that feels entirely fresh and defies genre in the best possible way. This book is creepy, romantic, thrilling, and thoughtful in its examination of power, love, and goodness. The characters of Providence will haunt readers long after they’ve finished reading, and they’ll be better for it.”
– Andrea Dunlop, author of She Regrets Nothing
“There’s nothing quite like being caught up in Caroline Kepnes’ dark and dazzling imagination. With Providence, she’s enfolded a love story within a charismatic, propulsive thriller—inlaid with indelible characters, incisive detail, intellect, and heart.”
– Lauren Acampora, author of The Wonder Garden
“Caroline Kepnes is cool right this minute — the only adult at Thanksgiving the high school cousins aren’t embarrassed to hang with…Kepnes has an exhilarating, poppy, unexpected voice, like Rainbow Rowell after an “X-Files” binge-watch, and as all of these writers are, she’s interested in how things really operate — how the big world ticks away while we’re in line at Starbucks.”
– The New York Times Summer Reading Guide
“A beautifully crafted narrative that deftly combines a sweet coming-of-age love story with elements of Lovecraftian horror and supernatural suspense, Providence is Kepnes at her best. A rich novel brimming with as much heartfelt emotion as genuine thrills, it will keep readers flipping the pages at a rapid pace, searching for answers to their own questions about love, truth, connection, and what it means to be human.”
– Bustle
international editions
UK Hardcover
Simon & Schuster
