A riveting, twisting, mind-bending new thriller from Monica Arya, bestselling author of The Favorite Girl, perfect for fans of Jeneva Rose, Freida McFadden, and Sarah Pease.

No one checks into Gilded Hive Asylum by choice.

And once they pass through its rusted gates, intricately carved with bees, birds, and blooming peonies, they understand one thing: no one leaves. The asylum has long been condemned, but one name still lingers in whispers—Magdalene Ivory, its most infamous patient.

When Demi is sent to visit her sister-in-law, the request seems simple: help identify a mysterious child found at her husband’s secluded resort. But nothing inside Gilded Hive is simple. Demi is greeted not only by doctors, but by a priest. By patients dressed in identical white, their hollow stares following her every move. By a sticky sweetness in the air that feels less comforting…and more consuming.

Magdalene is not the woman Demi expects. She speaks in riddles, dreams woven into every word, hinting at something deeper beneath the asylum’s carefully curated decay.

As the walls seem to close in, Demi begins to question everything, who she can trust, what she’s really been brought here to do, and why everyone seems to be watching her like she already belongs to the hive.

Because Demi has always been the Favorite Girl.

But inside Gilded Hive, there is only one Favorite Daughter.

And saving Magdalene might mean becoming something far worse.