Providence

An introverted English professors quiet life gets turned upside down when he falls for a dangerous, enigmatic sophomore. Mark Lausson has everything he thought he wanted: a coveted job at elite Sawyer College in Ohio. But at the start of his second year, stuck in a small town with deadlines piling up and paychecks falling short, Mark can already feel the fantasy crumbling. And then, a few weeks in, sophomore Tyler Cunningham shows up in class. In Tylerconfident, mysterious, and popularMark glimpses another way of being in the world. He finds Tyler's self-possession both compelling and unsettling. Caught in the rush of sex and secrets, Mark ignores the increasing evidence that Tyler can't be trusted. But by the time Mark comes to his senses, the irreparable damage is done. Complicating easy ideas of innocence,Providenceexplores the ways loneliness and desire distort our senses of self and other, right and wrong. Intense, propulsive, and impossible to put down,Providenceis perfect for readers of P. J. Vernon'sBath Hausand Donna Tartt'sThe Secret History, as well as Patricia Highsmith'sTalented Mr. Ripleyand Garth Greenwell'sWhat Belongs to You.