The Split : A Novel

“It’s great fun to watch [Kit] Frick’s two narratives collide and diverge.” —The New York Times Book Review
An Elle Best Mystery and Thriller Book of 2024

From critically acclaimed author Kit Frick, this “storytelling feat, with twin narratives that race each other to a satisfying—and shocking—conclusion” (Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author), follows a pair of sisters into a family’s dark past, illuminating how a single choice can drastically alter the trajectory of a life.

Sisters Jane and Esme used to be thick as thieves. But as adults, pragmatic, dependable Jane regrets the distance that has grown between them. So when beautiful and impetuous Esme calls Jane during a flash summer storm, announcing she’s left her high society husband, Jane is shocked to learn that her little sister wishes to stay with her. Could this be an opportunity for them to become close again? The only catch: Esme needs a ride from the city to their small Connecticut hometown, and Jane is terrified of getting on the highway. The storm is raging, and Jane can’t escape the horrible memory of how she nearly killed Esme while driving in a downpour when they were teens.

Jane must either let Esme stand on her own two feet for once or swallow her fear and jump to her younger sister’s rescue—and her choice cleaves her life in two.

In one reality, Jane tells Esme to crash with a friend. Twenty-four hours later, her sister is missing. Tortured by regret, Jane dedicates herself to piecing together Esme’s life before her disappearance, unraveling a web of lies, broken relationships, and, finally, the truth.

In the other reality, Jane gets in the car and offers her less-than-grateful sister a ride. But while Jane hopes living together in their childhood home will be healing, Esme is aloof and increasingly reckless. The tension between the sisters builds until they are finally forced to reckon with the explosive secret from their past that could destroy their fragile bond—and both their lives.

With a breakneck pace and shocking twists and turns, The Split captivatingly explores how little we know the ones we love—and how one small choice can change everything.

Kit Frick is a MacDowell Fellow and an International Thriller Writers Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. She is the author of the adult suspense novels The Split and Friends and Liars, the young adult thrillers Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, and the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs. Her books have been optioned for film and television and translated into nine languages. Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest. Visit Kit online at KitFrick.com and on Instagram @KitFrick.