Magic Hour: A Novel

Content Warning: This source material contains stereotypes and derogatory phrases about people with autism, as well as depictions of child abuse, mass shootings, suicide, and mental illness.

Dr. Julia Cates drives to the courthouse in Los Angeles. Members of the press ask her questions as she walks in, but her lawyer, Frank, shields her from them. A year earlier, Julia’s client, Amber Zuniga, walked into her church’s youth group meeting and shot several teenagers before dying by suicide. Frank asserts that despite Julia’s relationship with Amber, she was unaware of Amber’s intentions. However, the plaintiff claims that Julia should have placed Amber in a residential care unit. The judge rules that there was no evidence that Amber shared her plans with Julia beforehand, so she dismisses Julia’s case.

In the woods, a girl watches the rain from her cave. She knows there is no more food. She hears a twig snap and realizes that her captor is coming. She knows that there will be trouble for her if he sees that she freed herself.

In Rain Valley, Washington, Sheriff Ellie Barton sits with her colleagues, Cal and Peanut, in the police station. Peanut tells them that she saw Ellie’s sister, Julia, on the news the other day.