The Stories You Tell

  Also by Kristen Lepionka

  The Last Place You Look

  What You Want to See

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  KRISTEN LEPIONKA grew up mostly in her local public library, where she could be found with a big stack of adult mysteries before she was out of middle school. Her writing has been selected for Shotgun Honey, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Grift Magazine, and Black Elephant. She is also the editor of Betty Fedora, a journal that publishes feminist crime fiction. Kristen lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her partner and two cats. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Kristen Lepionka

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE STORIES YOU TELL. Copyright © 2019 by Kristen Lepionka. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10270.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover design: David Baldeosingh Rotstsein

  Cover photographs: woman © David Paire/Arcangel; street © Steve Rolfe/Arcangel; snow © levgenii Meyer/Shutterstock.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Lepionka, Kristen, author.

  Title: The stories you tell / Kristen Lepionka.

  Description: First Edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019005588 | ISBN 9781250309358 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250309365 (ebook)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3612.E62 S76 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019005588

  eISBN 9781250309365

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: July 2019