Cockpit

This novel begins with a strange phone call from Dora, David's grandmother and only living relative. He only met her once, as a boy, and cares nothing about her or family generally. His new wife, Meg, finds this odd, and while David would dismiss the call as nothing he needs to worry about, it stirs Meg to investigate. She flies down from New York, where she and David are urban professionals, to visit Dora, who lives in a remote part of rural Tennessee. She finds Dora elderly, alone, very poor, uncommunicative, possibly hallucinating, and fiercely independent. Meg comes from a normal family, and insists that David take some responsibility for Dora whether she wants it or not. That involves unraveling Dora’s backstory, which turns out to be lurid and shocking, and Dora herself is still dangerous.