Red Leaves Simons, Paullina

Kristina Kim's junior year at Dartmouth shatters when she vanishes without a trace. What starts as a missing person case spirals into something darker when her body is discovered in the woods near campus. Detective Spencer O'Malley arrives to untangle a web of secrets: a controlling boyfriend, a volatile ex, fractured friendships, and a campus culture where loyalty and silence run deep. Paullina Simons crafts a slow-burn psychological mystery that dissects the aftermath of violence — not just who killed Kristina, but who she really was beneath the surface everyone thought they knew. The New Hampshire winter feels appropriately cold and unforgiving as O'Malley peels back layers of collegiate life, Greek culture, and the messy truth about young adulthood. For fans of Tana French and Gillian Flynn who want their mysteries atmospheric, character-driven, and morally complicated.