I would like to thank my family, especially my parents—for the books, the understanding, the endless support, and for giving me the kind of childhood that is a gift to a writer and allowing me to share it with so many friends. I’d also like to thank Toby and James for the art therapy. See beloved nephews, here you are in a book! Nor do I know where I’d be without Gijs Van Koningsveld, my heart’s companion and the greatest source of magic I know.

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Suzannah Dunn, Debra Hills, Jen Hewson, Abbie Holmes, Susanna Forrest, Traci Kim, Brigid Delaney, Leighton Cheal, Jenna Krumminga, Lucy Jones, Odysseas Vasilakis, Kenneth Macleod, Kristin Harrison, Ulrike Kloss, and the Berlin writing community, particularly all the Reader Berliners. Thanks to Tom Pugh for the Hasenheide strolls, feedback, and encouragement when I needed it most, and to Jane Flett for apparating in my life, bearing so many gifts, like the very good witch she is.

I am hugely grateful to Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton for her insight, kindness, and unwavering enthusiasm; to my brilliant editors Rebecca Gray and Leonora Craig Cohen at Serpent’s Tail and Caroline Zancan and Kerry Cullen at Henry Holt; and to Lucy Carson and Molly Friedrich of The Friedrich Agency, whose belief in this novel was such an unexpected delight.

Finally, I would like to remember Andraya, one of my very first friends. Andraya’s death during the writing of this novel changed its shape. In her name, I say to anyone affected by intimate partner violence: you are not alone; it is not your fault; please seek help. Your first loyalty is to yourself.

To Andraya I would say this: I have thought of you often in these last years. The memories of our adventures on the farm have returned to me with such clarity, I cannot believe they are really over. Instead, it seems more likely that we are still out there, risking our parents’ wrath as the sun sets, perhaps in the barns, or sitting on a tractor, or down by the stream. The whole summer lies ahead. Tomorrow let’s make a campfire. Knock on the back door and I’ll be waiting …

Praise for Before the Ruins

Praise for Before the Ruins

“Gosling is a stylish, sophisticated writer, and we realize that we are following Andy on what amounts to a grand scavenger hunt for the truth. Rain falls relentlessly, and the ensuing floods form an ominous backdrop to a story that becomes darker as it goes along.”

The New York Times Book Review

“Before the Ruins is a lush and layered thriller that mystery lovers will savor.”

Real Simple