"Deliciously twisty....A heady mix of dark academia, spiraling stakes, and tangled loyalties." --Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author

A group of Harvard alums have played a secret game for decades but as the stakes rise, deadly consequences emerge from old lies. An unputdownable debut thriller for readers of the suspenseful novels of Julia Bartz and Katy Hays.

Harvard promised them everything.

Ambitious futures, peers who pushed each other toward their absolute best, and an education that would open doors for the rest of their lives. And though they started out as roommates, Sara, Bee, Dina, Allie, Wesley, and Claudine soon became family. They had their whole bright lives ahead of them--until their senior year, when a shocking tragedy changed everything.

Twenty years later, five of the roommates still indulge in a secret tradition they've kept alive since their campus days: the Circus, a harmless elimination-style "killing" game played across the private rooms and hidden alleys of New York City. The game is a nod to their younger selves and a tribute to the sixth roommate they lost too young. But this year, Sara wants out of the game--until she discovers there is a small fortune awaiting the winner of this final round.

As the Circus unfolds, Sara begins to suspect that the others aren't playing by the rules, and as the danger turns real and the old friends start pointing fingers, she discovers that even those closest to her harbor secrets of their own...secrets that could kill.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 11/04/2025
ISBN: 9781668094006
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.59d

Review Citations: Library Journal 09/01/2025 pg. 6
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2025
Publishers Weekly 09/08/2025