Indie Darling

A Novel

By: Lauren Nossett

Narrated by: Amara Jasper

A brilliant, breakout novel from ITW THRILLER AWARD-WINNING author Lauren Nossett—a mystery set in Nashville, where a Dolly Parton–loving private detective is drawn into the disappearance of an enigmatic pop star.

"THRILLING...[A] propulsive, glittery mystery.” —Lisa Unger, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author
“Pulse-pounding...FANS OF LIZ MOORE and S.A. COSBY will eat this up.” —Katy Hays, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author

Nashville is a city of two faces, where the glitter often masks the grit.

Kelly Williams, a Dolly Parton–loving, sports-car-driving private investigator in Nashville, helps women. Sisters in search of lost siblings. Wives determined to uncover affairs. Daughters haunted by men lingering outside their windows. Clients trust her because she listens, she believes them, and over the years she’s honed a specialized skill set.

Her latest client is Sarah Owens, better known as Seraph, the magnetic and polarizing lead singer of the indie sensation The Garden Snakes. After a series of threats turns violent, she hires Kelly to identify her assailant. With feminist anthems, cryptic lyrical easter eggs, and an electrifying stage presence, Seraph has built a fiercely loyal following—and attracted a number of critics. At that level of fame, her attacker could be anyone.

Then, in the middle of a Nashville performance, Seraph is shot on stage. The ambulance carrying her disappears. As the city reels and conspiracy theories swirl, Kelly is pulled into a dangerous web of secrets involving Seraph’s bandmates, her troubled past, and the high cost of stardom.

Propulsive and atmospheric, Indie Darling is both a page-turning mystery and a powerful meditation on art, obsession, and the perils of being a female artist in a celebrity-obsessed world.

Critic reviews

"A dazzlingly transportive tour de force from a writer at the height of her powers. Indie Darling is as brilliantly observed and richly authentic a literary mystery as the best of Liz Moore and S.A. Cosby, so steeped in the culture of Nashville and the music industry that it’s hard to believe it’s not real. Lauren Nossett wows and shocks, but most of all, she fires a flaming arrow at the reader’s heart and sets it ablaze."
—Ashley Winstead, national bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me

"With a fresh, engaging voice, vivid characters, and a thrilling twisty plot, Lauren Nossett brings all her considerable talents to every page of Indie Darling. With her finger on the pulse of our cultural obsessions, she knows how to keep us riveted with this propulsive, glittery mystery.”
—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Served Him Right

“Steeped in atmosphere, echoing with music, and filled with irrepressible characters, Indie Darling is more than your next page-turning obsession, it’s an astounding, heartfelt procedural by one of the most vibrant voices working in crime fiction today. Deftly plotted and brilliantly executed, Nossett delivers an impossibly perfect mix of pulse-pounding investigation alongside an ode to family lost and found. Fans of Liz Moore and S.A. Cosby will eat this up.”
—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters

“Indie Darling is an absolute winner. This thrilling story of redemption and reprisals set against the backdrop of the Nashville music scene is stellar. Kelly Williams is a relentless investigator with the heart and soul of the city baked into her bones, and Nossett puts the music in Music City. Don’t miss it!”
—J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Last Seen and A Very Bad Thing

“Indie Darling propels you straight into the inky underbelly of Nashville's glamorous yet cut-throat music scene. Featuring a missing pop star, a private detective with her own personal demons, and a cipher in song lyrics that may hold the answer to everything, Lauren Nossett has constructed a twisty mystery you won't want to put down.”
—Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Forget Me Not