Zoe Emmerson has a secret, one she’s kept for years. Her quiet world is shaken when her past finally catches up with her: the investigation into the murder of a six-year-old neighbour is re-opened thirty years after the fact, threatening to destroy her and everyone she’s fought so hard to protect.

She was just a child when it happened, scared and confused, and she’s never been entirely sure what she saw. But she kept her brother’s suspected involvement in the murder from the police, and the knowledge that she withheld a crucial piece of information haunts her.

As the past collides with the present, Zoe is forced to face a most difficult truth.

Carolyn Huizinga Mills' first picture book, The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain, was chosen as a 2018 Blue Spruce Honour Book, which gave Carolyn the opportunity to meet many excited readers through school visits and at the Forest of Reading Festival in Toronto. Her debut novel, The Good Son, was published in March 2021, and her second novel is scheduled to follow within a year or so. Carolyn plans to write many more books and can be found snuggled up in her office at 5am most mornings with her notebook or laptop and a hot mug of tea. She is also a grade 7 teacher, which allows her to share her passion for reading and writing with her students. She grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and now lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband and two children. Carolyn loves playing soccer, camping, traveling, and eating dark chocolate. Reading Blue Spruce and Yellow Cedar Awards, among many others. Born in a future police station in London, England, Deborah now lives in Thornhill, Ontario with her husband, two kids, and a rescue Schnoodle named Freddie.

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“This book surprised me. Based on its cover, and its publisher (Cormorant Books), I was expecting a very literary novel, something with drawn out descriptions and hidden meanings, usually a bit slower in pace. Instead, I found a page-turner of a novel in The Good Son by Carolyn Huizinga Mills, something I raced to finish, excited to see if my theory was true or not.”

I've Read This

“The Good Son is a well-crafted, compelling, ‘holy cow I can't believe this a debut’ story about complicated family dynamics and how one incident and an obsession changed the course of a woman's life. … Carolyn Huizinga Mills is a wonderful addition to the Canadian author community and I eagerly look forward to reading more from her.”

The Baking Bookworm

“Carolyn Huizinga Mills’s The Good Son (Cormorant Books) is a debut but no less masterful, blending the emotional complexity of family dynamics with page-turning suspense.”

All Lit Up

“A dark, tense, and brilliantly crafted family mystery.”

Open Book

“A well-crafted, compelling story about complicated family dynamics and how one incident and an obsession changed the course of a woman’s life.”

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