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A Novel
by Ellen Won Steil
The pieces of a troubled actress's mysterious life come together in a riveting novel about family secrets and unspeakable lies by the bestselling author of Fortune.
Marlow Fin is as famous for her beauty and success as she is infamous for her past, some of which is a mystery even to her. Is the public ready for the truth? Is she?
In 1995, young Isla Baek finds an abandoned six-year-old Marlow in the woods near the Baek family's lakeside cabin. With little memory of where she came from or how she got there, Marlow is soon adopted by the Baeks into a seemingly idyllic Midwest life as Isla's enigmatic new sister. But no one is prepared for how unnerving and disruptive Marlow's presence will be over the years. Nor could any of them have foreseen the shocking tragedy that upended all their lives forever.
Now the whole world is watching as Marlow reveals everything in a hotly anticipated prime-time interview. In her harrowing story, spanning decades, the truth finally emerges―about Marlow herself, the damages of family secrets, and the unthinkable things people do in the name of love.
"Steil cleverly presents her provocative thriller in a dovetailed dual stream. Eight-year-old Isla begins in 1995 and moves slowly forward; Marlow, who grows up to become 'one of the most prominent models and actresses of our time,' publicly shares her POV via transcript of an exclusive interview that aired July 3, 2021. The decades between reveal the fatal power of family secrets." ―Booklist
"Exquisitely written and hauntingly powerful, Becoming Marlow Fin is a fascinating, wholly original story about the fragile bonds of family. Ellen Won Steil has created riveting, superbly structured dramatic suspense with multiple POVs and an interviewer trying to unearth the secrets behind who Marlow Fin really is and what she's done. The twists and turns will shock you, and the emotional impact will wrench your heart out." ―Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of A Friend in the Dark
"Becoming Marlow Fin is my favorite kind of suspense to relish on a rainy night: tense, twisty, and piled with layer upon layer of family secrets." ―Victoria Helen Stone, bestselling author of Jane Doe
"The twists and turns never let up in this gripping tale of passion, lies, and betrayal. Becoming Marlow Fin is a page-turning riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I couldn't put it down!" ―Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
This information about Becoming Marlow Fin was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ellen Won Steil grew up in Iowa in a Korean American family and earned her BA in journalism from Drake University and law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. The author of Fortune, Ellen believes most good stories have at least a hint of darkness in them. For more information, visit ewsteil.com.
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