Chosen
A Novel

The last time Dodie sees her mother, Stella, she is wearing a red velvet dress from the 1970s and is unusually animated. Soon after, Dodie's teenage brother Zak goes missing. The only trace of him is a cryptic postcard addressed from the Soul Life Centre in New York State. When Dodie returns to confront her mother about Zak, she finds her dead, her battle with depression finally over. As Dodie crosses the Atlantic in search of her brother, a parallel narrative tells the life of her mother in the 1970s. Eventually, the two stories collide in an exhilarating conclusion.

<p>The rise of a religious cult intertwines with the secret history of a family in this tale from a master of suspense at the top of her game<p>The last time Dodie sees her mother alive, Stella is unusually busy, tattily splendid in an old red velvet dress. Soon after, Dodie's brother Seth goes missing: the only trace of him is through postcards signed "Yours in the Lord" addressed from the Soul Life Centre, New York state. When Stella hangs herself, Dodie must leave her baby Jake at home and cross the Atlantic to bring Seth beck from the mysterious Soul Life Centre. But when she arrives, Seth is always one day away from seeing her. She becomes drawn, not always willingly, into the Brothers and Sisters' communal living, meditation, fasting, and chanting--until baby Jake unexpectedly arrives at Soul Life and events take a shocking turn for Dodie. In a parallel narrative, Stella's sister Melanie tells the story of their teenage years in the 1970s and their shared affair with Bogart, a messianic hippy with shrewd ambition. These two compelling stories collide in a series of shocking revelations and an exhilarating conclusion.