“Exceptional debut. . .sharply honed prose. . .[For] fans of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A superbly well-written literary novel.”
—Associated Press
“An unnerving psychological suspense about compulsion and corruption.”
—Library Journal, audiobook review
“The Tip Line. . . slyly flouts expectations.”
—Shelf Awareness
A reimagining of the Gilgo Beach murders,
The Tip Line is an unsettling and twisty novel
that asks just how far you should go to find love.
PRAISE FOR THE TIP LINE
“A young woman who claims she only wants to find a husband soon admits, ‘Maybe I wanted to see what I was capable of.’ This taut erotic thriller tests a woman’s trust of a man she is in thrall to. Cinematic, visceral, and truly unnerving, The Tip Line conjures increasingly difficult feats of denial in the service of love.”
—Amy Hempel, author of Sing to It
“A psychological thriller written on the edge of a scalpel through one woman’s mind. You won’t be able to put down this reimagining of the Gilgo Beach murders. I’ve found my new favorite author in Vanessa Cuti.“
—Sara Herchenroether, author of The Night Flowers
“The Tip Line is a stunning blend of true crime and fiction. Both funny and disturbing, with complex characters and eye-popping twists.
Surprising to the very end.”
—Samantha Downing, internationally bestselling author of For Your Own Good
“The Tip Line is an unsettling, bold, and beautifully written debut that explores one woman’s quest for Mr. Right against the backdrop of an unthinkable crime, asking us to consider the fraught relationships between trust and denial, love and complicity. Propulsive and whip-smart with an ending that made me gasp. Vanessa Cuti is an incredible talent.“
—Caitlin Mullen, author of the Edgar Award winner Please See Us
“A slow-burning and clever reimagining of the Gilgo beach murders, I was riveted by The Tip Line and Virginia’s twisting story. With a full cast of suspicious characters and an ending I couldn’t stop thinking about, true crime fans will devour this one.”
— Kali White, author of The Monsters We Make
“An intimate and gripping tale that plunges you into a reimagining of the real-life case of the Gilgo Beach Murders. True crime fans won't want to miss The Tip Line.”
— Mindy Carlson, author of Her Dying Day
Eager to get married, thirty-year-old Virginia Carey lands a job as an operator at a police tip line, where she thinks finding a husband will be easy. There’s Charlie Ford, a surprisingly sweet homicide detective, and charming police chief Declan “Deck” Brady. But just as Virginia’s plans begin to fall into place and she can almost picture a ring on her finger, she answers a call from Verona—a mysterious woman who provides a tip about four bodies on a remote local beach.
Verona, a sex worker, also gives Virginia details on sordid and raucous parties attended by law enforcement officers, and on the strange fetishes of cops she has been involved with. Then comes an explosive tip: Verona thinks it’s a police officer who is responsible for the killings.
But it can’t be true—the cops Virginia works with are marriage material, even if they are a little rough around the edges. While Verona trusts that her tips are being heard because she and Virginia have formed an unusual connection, Virginia realizes that the key to solving the case is ultimately in her hands.
The tip line will reveal the truth about those murders—so long as Virginia is willing to hear it.