The Ascent

About the book

What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep?

A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in ‘a standout thriller with something deeper on its mind: how the past doesn’t just haunt you, it reshapes you’ (The Seattle Times).

‘I tore through this book and was genuinely shocked by its ending!’-Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines

For decades, the whereabouts of The Fifteen has been an unsolved mystery. All the members of this reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished twenty years ago, except for one: a twelve-year-old girl found wandering alone on the side of the road.

In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her, building a new identity for herself with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter, Lucy. But motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn’t want to let Lucy out of her sight even for a moment. She can’t return to work. She’s not sleeping, and she has started spiraling into paranoia.

Then a stranger shows up on her doorstep, offering answers to all of Lee’s questions about her past-if Lee could only trust that this woman is who she says she is. Can Lee keep her safe, stable life? Or will new revelations about ‘the cult that went missing’ shatter everything? In The Ascent, Allison Buccola has crafted a nerve-rattling thriller about motherhood, identity, and the truths we think we know about our families.

Praise for this book:

"An irresistible thriller... The Ascent is a gripping and fascinating look at life after a cult, packed with reasons to fly through the pages." - Megan Collins

"I've always been a hard-core fan of Allison Buccola, and The Ascent takes me over the top with one of the most cleverly executed and original thriller plots I've read in a long time. Buccola's delicate writing is masterfully sneaky - her soulful young protagonist is holding your hand in the dark, then snatches it away as you race to the twisty conclusion." - Julia Heaberlin

"I read this enthralling psychological thriller in one fell swoop. Every time I thought I would put it down, it sucked me back in and I lost an entire night of sleep. The Ascent is an intense examination of motherhood, trauma, marriage, and our fascination with cults... . I loved it." - Jo Piazza

"The mystery at the heart of this novel is irresistible: How could fifteen people, all part of a doomsday cult, simply vanish one morning without a trace? The Ascent follows the only member left behind as she struggles to protect herself and her child from the trauma of her past and the dangers of her present. I tore through this book and was genuinely shocked by its ending!" - Ana Reyes

"A knife-sharp look into the psyche of a cult survivor who hasn't come to terms with the events of her past, this is a triumph of a book. Poignant and twisty, layered and tense, I was obsessed with knowing how all the loose threads inevitably tied together in the end." - Stacy Willingham