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by Debbie Babitt (Author)
One of Suspense Magazine's Best Debuts of 2021
For twenty-four years, Mary Grace Dobbs has been searching for salvation. Orphaned at eleven, she was forced to go live with her Bible salesman uncle, wheelchair-bound aunt, and a cousin who tortured and killed small animals. At school, a bully made her life a nightmare. Everything changed when a newcomer to town became her only best friend, and changed a second time when that friend and another classmate vanished two months later, never to be seen again. Today, Mary Grace is the first female sheriff of her rural town, a position that doesn't sit well with some of the locals. Keeping order and her demons at bay becomes an impossible task when the Black drifter suspected in the earlier disappearances returns to Repentance . . . and another sixth grader vanishes. With old prejudices and new secrets spilling out into the open, the modern world soon illuminates the village's darkest corners. The case becomes even more fraught as a cult of white supremacists brings its gospel of hate to Repentance and violence explodes, claiming more lives. Racing to find the missing girl while fearing for the safety of her own sixth-grade daughter, Mary Grace must confront an unspeakable truth--and face a decision no parent should ever have to make. Set in a remote mountain town, where the secrets run as deep as the hollows, Saving Grace is at once a spell-binding tale of innocence lost and a twisty, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller. This startling debut novel introduces a captivating protagonist whose concept of good and evil can shape a young girl--then and now.
Author Biography
Debbie Babitt was Copy Director for two major Manhattan publishing companies. She has worked as an actress, playwright, and drama critic. Her first novel, Saving Grace, was named One of the Most Anticipated Thrillers of 2021 by She Reads and voted one of the Best Debuts of 2021 by Suspense magazine. First Victim, her second novel, was a Buzz Book of 2022. Her feature articles have appeared in CrimeReads, Suspense magazine, and Mystery and Suspense magazine. Debbie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. The Man on the Train, Debbie's third novel, a Hitchcockian thriller set in the Hamptons, will be published in May 2024.
