Those Who Knew — Idra Novey

A taut and explosive novel about what a man thinks he can get away with, and the woman who stands in his way.

On an unnamed island country, ten years after the collapse of a regime, Lena, a low-ranking professor at a marginal college, suspects that the powerful senator she was involved with back in her student activist days may be guilty. He's definitely guilty of intimidating her, of touching her. But when a young woman he now works with turns up dead, Lena wonders if her senator is guilty of murder. And her suspicions intensify as clues fall into her lap.

But what does it mean that Lena never spoke up about what happened to her? What about her family's shameful history as well-known supporters of the former regime? What happened to this girl, and what should Lena do? Just when readers will believe they've worked out this mystery, Those Who Knew abruptly turns and what follows is a powerful, uncanny exploration of the cost of staying silent, and the mixed rewards of acting out, that takes readers from the island to New York City and back.