The Boundaries We Cross
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4.5 • 13 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
He swears by his boundaries. But did he cross the line?
At 8 o'clock on a blustery, mid-January morning, Charles Bliss is summoned to the head of school's office at Carrington Academy. Charles, a teacher at the elite Connecticut boarding school, is surprised by the unusual request, but when he arrives, no time is wasted. Charles learns that he has been accused of engaging in a romantic relationship with a student.
The student behind the accusation, Hayley Goodloe, is the daughter of a state senator, the granddaughter of an ex-governor, and an heiress to a massive fortune.
But Charles has long prided himself on keeping proper boundaries with his students. He insists he would never cross the line . . . or would he? Hayley's diary makes it clear she had strong feelings for her teacher. Was it just an unrequited schoolgirl crush? Or was it something more?
When Hayley disappears under suspicious circumstances, a daunting pile of evidence points to Charles as the chief suspect. Charles swears he's being framed. And it soon becomes apparent there's only one way he can clear his name.
Find her.
Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Jodi Picoult
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Parks (Say Nothing) fashions a propulsive page-turner out of familiar parts in this topical academic thriller. For the last 11 years, Charles Bliss has taught creative writing at an elite Connecticut boarding school. He's shocked when the headmaster calls him into the administrative office one morning and tells him that pretty, blonde student Hayley Goodloe—whose mother is a longtime member of the Connecticut State Legislature and the school's board of trustees—has accused him of carrying on a romantic relationship with her. Charles vehemently denies the accusations, and then Hayley disappears; the evidence that eventually emerges points strongly toward Charles's involvement in her abduction. Pilloried on the internet, shunned by most of his colleagues, and named a person of interest by the police, Charles scrambles to clear his name. Parks excels at shaping his characters' voices, with chapters alternating between a desperate Charles and increasingly anxious excerpts from Hayley's journal. Crackling dialogue, vigorous pacing, and a surprisingly fresh angle on well-trod subject matter bolster things further. Readers won't be able to put this down.
