The Drifter: A Novel

Megan Abbott meets M.O. Walsh in Christine Lennon's compelling debut novel about a group of friends on the cusp of graduating from college when their lives are irrevocably changed by a brutal act of violence.

Present Day…

For two decades, Elizabeth has tried to escape the ghosts of her past…tried to erase the painful memories…tried to keep out the terrifying nightmares. But twenty years after graduating from the University of Florida, her carefully curated life begins to unravel, forcing her to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget.

1990s, Gainesville, Florida…

Elizabeth and her two closest friends, Caroline and Ginny, are having the time of their lives in college—binge watching Oprah, flirting for freebies from Taco Bell, and breaking hearts along the way. But without warning, their world is suddenly shattered when a series of horrific acts of violence ravage the campus, changing their lives forever.

Sweeping readers from the exclusive corners of sorority life in the South to the frontlines of the drug-fueled, slacker culture in Manhattan in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, when Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge her role in the death of a friend in order to mend a broken friendship and save her own life, The Drifter is an unforgettable story about the complexities of friendships and the secrets that can ultimately destroy us. |

Her dark past isn’t done with her yet . . .

Present Day . . .

For two decades, Elizabeth has tried to escape the ghosts of her past, tried to erase the painful memories, tried to keep out the terrifying nightmares. But twenty years after graduating from the University of Florida, her carefully curated life begins to unravel, forcing her to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget.

1990, Gainesville, Florida . . .

Elizabeth and her two closest friends, Caroline and Ginny, are having the time of their lives in college—binge-watching Oprah, flirting for freebies from Taco Bell, and breaking hearts along the way. But their world is suddenly shattered without warning when a series of horrific acts of violence ravages the campus, changing their lives forever.

Taking readers from the exclusive corners of sorority life in the South to the frontlines of the drug-fueled, slacker culture in Manhattan in the 1990s and early 2000s— when Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge her role in the death of a friend in order to mend a broken friendship and save her own life—The Drifter is an unforgettable story about the complexities of friendships and the secrets that can ultimately destroy them.

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“Elizabeth, an outwardly happy wife and mother in New York, has spent twenty years trying to forget her last horrific night as a student at the University of Florida. But when someone from her past tries to reconnect, the memories rush back, threatening her hard-won stability. The tale that follows is packed with suspense, violence, and irrevocable choices made in haste and fear. The Drifer is a gripping thriller deepened by an examination of the intense and life-altering friendships young women form at the beginning of adulthood that rings with poignant truth. I could not put it down.” - Heather Young, author of The Lost Girls

“The Drifer is a gripping thriller deepened by an examination of the intense and life-altering friendships young women form at the beginning of adulthood that rings with poignant truth. I could not put it down.” - Heather Young, author of The Lost Girls

“Part campus novel, part coming-of-age story, The Drifter by Christine Lennon is a compelling and thoughtful debut about how the past can press against the present, and haunt it. Its keen sense of place--from the languid Florida heat to the anonymous bustle of New York City--is immediate and vivid, and its heroine’s ongoing struggles to fit in and find herself will compel you to turn the page.” - Edan Lepucki, bestselling author of California

“Part campus novel, part coming-of-age story, The Drifter by Christine Lennon is a compelling and thoughtful debut about how the past can press against the present, and haunt it… Its heroine’s ongoing struggles to fit in and find herself will compel you to turn the page.” - Edan Lepucki, bestselling author of California Edan Lepucki, bestselling author of California