“I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” she says. “Your husband was a really funny guy. I loved the first special.”
“Terrific stuff,” her partner agrees. “The second one is coming out soon, right? What’s it called again?”
“I Love You, Jimmy Peralta,” Paris says, and saying the words out loud makes her smile.
Because she does. And always will.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every book is hard to write, but with the pandemic and my son in virtual school, it took several drafts to get Things We Do in the Dark to a place I felt comfortable showing my editor. （It’s trippy to write about murder when your six-year-old is two feet away learning how to count by fives）。
Keith Kahla, thank you for your patience and willingness to talk through all my ideas, even though I changed the structure of the novel at least four times. You bring out the best in me.
Victoria Skurnick, I’m forever grateful for all you’ve done, and continue to do. A million times, thank you. And huge thanks to the gang at Levine Greenberg Rostan for always looking out for me.
The team at Minotaur Books and St. Martin’s Press is an absolute dream. Kelley Ragland, Andrew Martin, and Jennifer Enderlin, thank you so much for your kindness and encouragement. Martin Quinn and Sarah Melnyk, you two are the best marketer and publicist an author could hope for.
Macmillan Audio produced a fabulous audiobook, and I’m so grateful to Katy Robitzki, Robert Allen, and Emily Dyer for all their hard work. Carla Vega, your gorgeous voice and compelling narration was the exact right fit for this story.
It’s always exciting to see translations of my books in different countries, and this couldn’t happen without an amazing foreign rights team. Kerry Nordling, Marta Fleming, and Witt Phillips, thank you for getting my stories out into the world.
Ervin Serrano, huge thanks for creating the most striking, captivating cover for Things We Do in the Dark, which gives me chills in the very best way.
There were many sets of eyes on this book before it made it into readers’ hands, and I don’t envy the difficult job of a great copy editor. Thank you, Ivy McFadden, for catching all my grammar mistakes and smoothing out the awkward phrases.
This book was the first time I’ve ever asked for sensitivity reads, and I’m glad I did, as it can be challenging to write a psychological thriller that doesn’t touch on triggering topics. Yasmin A. McClinton, I’m so grateful for your detailed notes on the importance of language when describing sensitive issues. Marie Estrada, your thoughtful perspective on our shared Filipino culture was so appreciated.
It turns out that the folks who read and write the darkest stuff are also the world’s nicest people. Ed Aymar, you know how much you mean to me, so let’s not be mushy about it. Hannah Mary McKinnon, thank you for untangling my plot knot, and you were absolutely the inspiration for Sgt. McKinley. Sonica Soares, thank you for thinking I’m cooler than I actually am. Chevy Stevens, thank you for sharing your accountant with me. Samantha Bailey, Natalie Jenner, Dawn Ius, Angie Kim, Shawn Cosby, Gabino Iglesias, Alex Segura, Mark Edwards, Riley Sager, Alex Finlay, and Joe Clifford, you’re all rock star authors I’m lucky enough to call friends. Todd Gerber, thank you for being smart in all the ways I’m not. Shari Lapena, I’m so grateful for your generosity.
Thank you to CWOC, ITW, SinC, and MWA for providing resources and guidance in an industry that can be tough to navigate.
Librarians and booksellers are the literary world’s angels—thank you for all you do to put books into the hands of readers. Huge thanks also to the bookstagrammers and influencers who shout out what they love every day, especially Abby Endler （IG @crimebythebook） for the constant support, and Sarah （IG @things.i.bought.and.liked） for the Instagram story that unexpectedly changed everything.
Shell, Lori, Dawn, and Annie, thank you for the decades of friendship, and for always being my safe space.
To my family in both Canada and the Philippines, salamat kaayo. Special thanks to my Uncle Alex for helping me with the Cebuano translations in this book that Google （and me） messed up. Tita Becky, thank you for being my biggest fan from the beginning, you are forever missed.
I’m blessed to have such kind in-laws. Ron, thank you for being my unofficial Green Bay, Wisconsin publicist. Kay, you were a wonderful grandmother to Mox in the short time we had together, and you will live on in our hearts always.
To my son’s teachers—and all teachers—I’m deeply grateful for everything you’ve done to keep the kids engaged and learning through such a tumultuous time. To the doctors, nurses, and frontline workers who’ve made the world safer for the rest of us: THANK YOU.