Girl in the Rearview Mirror: A Novel

An Entertainment Weekly hottest read of the summer • A USA Today hottest read of the week • A Refinery29 best thriller of June • A New York Post best book of the week

“With hairpin twists and immense psychological acuity, Kelsey Rae Dimberg’s Girl in the Rearview Mirror is as seductive as the glamorous, privileged family at its center—and as cunning. An exciting, intoxicating debut, it will hold you until its startling final pages.” — Megan Abbott, bestselling author of Dare Me and Give Me Your Hand

I never meant to lie. That is, I never wanted to.

They are Phoenix’s First Family: handsome Philip Martin, son of the sitting Senator, an ex-football player who carries himself with an easy grace and appears destined to step into his father’s seat when the time is right; his wife Marina, the stylish and elegant director of Phoenix’s fine arts museum; and their four-year-old daughter Amabel, beautiful and precocious and beloved.

Finn Hunt is working a dull office job to pay off her college debt when she meets Philip and charms Amabel. She eagerly agrees to nanny, thinking she’s lucked into the job of a lifetime. Though the glamour of the Martins’ lifestyle undeniably dazzles Finn, her real pleasure comes from being part of the family: sharing quick jokes with Philip in the kitchen before he leaves for work; staying late when Marina needs a last-minute sitter; and spending long days with Amabel, who is often treated more like a photo op than a child.

But behind every façade lurks a less attractive truth. When a young woman approaches Finn, claiming a connection with Philip and asking Finn to pass on a message, Finn becomes caught up in a web of deceit with the senate seat at its center. And Finn isn’t exactly innocent herself: she too has a background she has kept hidden, and under the hot Phoenix sun, everything is about to be laid bare. . . . 

Kelsey Rae Dimberg is the author of Girl in the Rearview Mirror. She received an MFA from the University of San Francisco. Before writing novels, she wrote copy for startups like Google and Groupon. She lives in Chicago.