When the Stars Answer
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Hardcover: 9781250394583, St. Martin’s Press, 3/30/2027
eBook: 9781250394590, St Martin’s Press, 3/30/2027

When the Stars Answer

Coming March 30, 2027

When a journalist acquires the power to hear lies, the real test isn’t exposing the truth, but living with it.

Rowan Winslow spent her career exposing liars, no matter the consequences. That attitude cost her a job at a prestigious Boston paper, as well as her reputation. At 28, she’s back in her hometown of Pinebridge, Vermont, navigating the wreckage of her relationship with her sister and trying not to suffocate in a town where everyone knows her business. Then a birthday wish during a meteor shower grants her what seems like the perfect gift: the power to hear when people lie.

At first, it’s liberating. Seductive, even, as she uses her ability to uncover secrets for stories that could relaunch her career. But soon her own choices undermine the relationships she’s been building. Then her world grinds to a halt after a shocking family secret rewrites everything she thought she knew. The truth has always been Rowan’s creed, but now it’s demanding a sacrifice she’s not sure she can make. Turns out not all truths set you free—some trap you in impossible choices.

Advance Praise

“Harper Ross blends an imaginative premise with real-life consequences in this clear-eyed and compassionate novel about what we owe the truth…and ourselves.”
—Virginia Kantra, NYT bestselling author
“Absolutely compelling. With a deliciously dark premise, WHEN THE STARS ANSWER explores the issues of truth, lies and unforeseen consequences against the backdrop of life in a small town. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Kristan Higgins, NYT bestselling author
“Harper Ross has written a riveting exploration of what we owe to ourselves and to each other, and how the past can contaminate the present if we allow it. I simply could not put this book down. It is deeply suspenseful, with characters who leap off the page and bring us to an amazing conclusion. I loved it so much I know I’ll read it again.”
—Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners