We Disappear

"We Disappear is a mystery concerning the identity of a teenage boy and the people he draws into his web of half-truths. . . . It's not hyperbole to suggest that We Disappear is the eeriest Kansas-set story since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood." -- Chicago Sun-Times

A dark and compelling novel of addiction, obsession, love, and family from the acclaimed author of Mysterious Skin

The body of a teenage boy is discovered in a Kansas field. The murder haunts Donna--a recent widow battling cancer--calling forth troubling details from long-suppressed memories of her past. Hoping to discover more about "disappeared" people, she turns to her son, Scott, who is fighting demons of his own. Addicted to methamphetamines and sleeping pills, Scott is barely holding on--though the chance to help his mother in her strange and desperate search holds out a slim promise of some small salvation.

But what he finds is a boy named Otis handcuffed in a secret basement room, and the questions that arise seem too disturbing even to contemplate. With his mother's health rapidly deteriorating, Scott must surrender to his own obsession, and unravel Otis's unsettling connections to other missing teens . . . and, ultimately, to himself.

The author of two novels and a volume of poetry, Scott Heim has written for numerous publications, including The Advocate, Village Voice, and Nerve.com. He lives in Boston.