Two young women are trapped in a deadly chase through the beautiful, dangerous waters around Australia in the new thriller from the bestselling author of Our Little Secret—perfect for fans of The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Drowning Woman.
Ivy is in trouble. A recent break-up has left her humiliated and raw, so when her best friend, Regan, offers her a month-long escape in the form of a trip to Australia, it feels like a lifeline, one that Ivy grabs with both hands.
Regan is everything Ivy’s not—confident, free-spirited, charismatic—and a natural at backpacker fun. But Ivy is drawn to a calmer type of holiday, so when she spots an ad for crewmembers on a small yacht being sailed by a doting father and his daughter, the girls decide to take the job. Together with a handsome third crewmember, they set off north into tropical heat, but it's not long before doubts start to creep in. Are the girls simply claustrophobic on the boat, or have they stumbled into something they don't understand?
Tensions rise as the past threatens to catch up with them, and dark secrets emerge that will change everything. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game on land and at sea, this fast-paced, twisty thriller keeps you guessing until the very last page.
ROZ NAY’s debut novel, Our Little Secret, was a national bestseller, won the Douglas Kennedy Prize for best foreign thriller in France, and was nominated for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Mystery and the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel Award. Her second bestselling novel, Hurry Home, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime Novel award and The Hunted, her third, was nominated for Best Crime Novel in 2022. Roz has lived and worked in Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK. She now lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two children.
"If you’re a thriller fan who isn’t yet familiar with Roz Nay, make this the next book you read—The Offing is a deliciously twisty adventure at sea that wastes no time making you guess who can and can’t be trusted (which you’ll do until the very end!), as two young friends navigate the kind of fear and paranoia that feels all too familiar in womanhood."
—Ashley Audrain, #1 bestselling author of The Push and The Whispers
"The Offing is a maelstrom of a novel with a whip-smart plot, a break-neck pace, and an intriguing cast of characters with dueling loyalties and secrets as deep as the ocean. Read THE OFFING on dry land with the lights on, and make sure to brace yourself for an ending that will snatch your breath away. Not to be missed!"
—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest
"I’d say this is her best work. . . . Nay builds suspense wonderfully and when things explode you won’t be able to put the book down. It made me recall the late great Mary Roberts Rinehart’s The Afterhouse, one of the creepiest books ever."
—Margaret Cannon in The Globe and Mail
“With elegant prose, exotic settings and heart-pounding suspense, Nay is one of my favourite thriller authors.”
—Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Haters and The Drowning Woman
"With vivid prose and immersive imagery, Nay takes you on a journey that is sinister, tension-packed, and explores unsettling corners you’d never expect. Absolutely addictive!"
—Nicole Lundrigan, bestselling author of A Man Downstairs
“The Offing is a dark, twisty ride on the water, where everyone has a secret and paranoia runs deep. Roz Nay has written a taut, suspenseful story and the surprises never stop.”
—Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author of My Lovely Wife and A Twisted Love Story
“As you read Roz Nay’s latest thriller The Offing a sense of dread will slowly crawl up your spine, slither to your ear, and whisper you should hold on tight because bad things, really bad things, are coming. Compelling, claustrophobic, and so creepily atmospheric, you may never set foot on a vessel again. One heck of a read!”
—Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of The Revenge List
"Set in the deep, dark waters of Australia, where danger lurks under and above the surface, The Offing is terrifyingly brilliant. As the boat rocks and sways, so do the suspicions swirling around everyone on board. My heart hammered, nails digging into my skin, as I breathlessly turned the pages, gasping at each stunning reveal. Roz Nay has written a chilling, gripping tale of deceit, revenge, and justice, proving once again that she's an undeniable force in the thriller genre."
—Samantha M. Bailey, USA TODAY and #1 national bestselling author of A Friend in the Dark
"The perfect summer thriller that keeps readers on the hook right from the beginning. . . . The vastness of the ocean is palpable while the claustrophobia of the yacht is anxiety inducing. This novel will have you guessing until the very end."
—TheSuburban
"Roz Nay remains one of my favorite thriller writers with The Offing, her latest page-turner about two young women on vacation—and secretly on the run from danger back home. A locked room mystery on a boat in Australia, a police investigation unfolding in a split time-frame, and a nail-biting first person narration had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Another must read from a masterful storyteller!"
—Wendy Walker, bestselling author of What Remains
"Roz Nay takes us Down Under for a creepy cat and mouse chase in Australia's tropical waters. . . . Atmospheric, immersive and incredibly addictive, with all Roz's trademarks: a strong sense of place, complex characters with secrets, and hot but dubious men. I'm a huge fan of Roz's writing and this is her best yet!"
—Allie Reynolds, author of Shiver and The Swell
"The Offing is unputdownable. As taut as a sailor’s knot. The unexpected twists never stop . . ."
—Sascha Rothchild, author of Blood Sugar
“If you only read one Suspense book this summer, make it Roz Nay’s The Offing. . . . Roz Nay’s writing’s as smooth as a windless sea, while the setting adds heaps to this tense story, the surroundings beautiful, menacing, and claustrophobic. . . . I could not turn the pages fast enough to learn whose secrets prove deadly. The solution hit like a shark attack—I didn’t see it coming.”
—The Nerd Daily
“The Offing by Roz Nay is a top-tier thriller worthy of Robyn Harding that I read in two exhilaratingly quick sittings. Nay knows not only how to create suspense, but also how to maintain it. The Offing . . . [is] a worthwhile choice . . . [when] you just want to have a fiendishly good time.”
—The British Columbia Review
"An unputdownable, edge-of-your-seat read that offers readers a thrilling ride filled with suspense, complex characters, and contemporary concerns that will keep them glued to its pages, eager to race to the final revelation."
—SesayArts Magazine
"Less whodunnit and more who-done-exactly-what? A nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. And even then, you’d guess wrong.
—Desi News