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 in the next striking novel from Harper Ross, author of The Unwritten Rules of Magic.

Rowan Winslow built her career exposing liars, no matter the consequences. That conviction 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 past. 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 intoxicating. Seductive, even, as she uses her ability to uncover stories that could relaunch her career. But the deeper she leans into her power, the more her choices begin to strain the fragile relationships she has been trying to rebuild.

When she learns a shocking family secret, Rowan’s world grinds to a halt, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew about the people she loves and the beliefs she has built her life around. The truth has always been Rowan’s creed, but now it’s demanding a sacrifice she’s not sure she can make. Because not all truths set you free. Some leave you trapped in an impossible choice.

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