Cruel Instincts

A grieving teen uncovers her family’s twisted secrets when she’s drawn into the orbit of a charismatic and privileged clique—Cruel Intentions meets The Birds in this daring speculative thriller from the author of Natural Selection.

Tesla Wilde barely escaped the horrific car crash that killed her mother. Now she’s been sent to live with an aunt she’s never met in the Aviary, the Wilde Family’s sprawling estate in Montana. No cell service. No internet. Not another soul for miles, except her eccentric aunt, Robin.

That is until Tesla’s cousin Arden and his privileged, impossibly beautiful friends descend upon the Aviary, uninvited. Robin begs Tesla to stay away from them, but they’re magnetic. And a convenient distraction from her all-consuming grief. Especially their leader, Vida, an aggressively free spirit who swears her tarot deck never lies. And who knows a suspicious amount about Wilde family history.

As Tesla’s confusion grows, Vida and her cards promise answers Aunt Robin refuses to give. Then Robin disappears and Tesla starts hearing voices as birds follow her around the Aviary. And she can’t help but wonder, is someone actually trying to communicate with her from beyond the grave? Or are her cousin and his friends playing an elaborate game with deadly stakes?