Floodwaters and Hidden Secrets

Denton, Pennsylvania, is drowning in historic floods, and Detective Josie Quinn is pressed into water rescue duty. Amid the chaos, Josie and her team save an elderly woman, but as a house collapses, a blue tarp surfaces in the current. Josie's instincts scream that it's a body, and despite the danger, she retrieves it. The city's disaster is more than natural—it's a catalyst, unearthing secrets long buried beneath the town's surface. The emotional weight of the rescue, the city's suffering, and the mysterious tarp set the tone for a case that will force Josie to confront her own past and the darkness lurking in her hometown.

The Tarp in the Current

The tarp contains the mummified remains of a young woman, wrapped and hidden for years. The discovery is public, with news cameras capturing Josie's every move, and the town's attention shifts from the flood to the crime. Josie's team, stretched thin by the disaster, must now investigate a murder with almost no evidence left at the original scene. The body's clothing—a high school jacket—triggers memories for Josie, connecting the victim to her own past. The emotional impact is immediate: the case is personal, and the storm outside mirrors the turmoil within Josie as she realizes the investigation will dredge up old wounds.

A Body from the Past

The autopsy reveals the victim is a teenage girl, killed sixteen years ago, shot execution-style, and five months pregnant. The high school jacket belonged to Josie's late husband, Ray, making the case deeply personal. The victim is identified as Beverly Urban, a notorious bully from Josie's high school days who vanished after junior year. The revelation that Beverly was pregnant and murdered, her body hidden under a house, shocks Josie and her team. The emotional arc intensifies as Josie is forced to question her memories, her relationships, and the possibility that someone she once loved could be connected to the crime.

The Jacket's Ghost

Josie's investigation into the jacket's origins leads her to confront Ray's past. Conversations with Ray's ex, Misty, and others reveal that Ray's prized jacket disappeared mysteriously after high school. The possibility that Ray gave the jacket to Beverly—or that it was stolen—raises painful doubts. Josie is haunted by the idea that Ray, her anchor through childhood trauma, may have had secrets. The emotional tension is palpable as Josie grapples with betrayal, loss, and the fear that her foundation is built on lies. The jacket becomes a symbol of unresolved guilt and the tangled web of relationships in Denton.

High School Shadows

Flashbacks to 2004 reveal the toxic dynamics of Denton East High: Beverly's bullying, Josie's struggles, and Ray's role as both protector and possible participant in secrets. The rumors of Ray and Beverly's relationship, the fights, and the emotional violence of adolescence are brought to life. Josie's memories are unreliable, colored by trauma and time, and the investigation forces her to re-examine everything she thought she knew. The emotional arc is one of confusion, anger, and the slow realization that the past is never as simple as it seems.

The Missing Urban Women

Josie and her team discover that Beverly's mother, Vera Urban, also disappeared in 2004. Public records show both women ceased to exist after Beverly's junior year. The house's rental history reveals a year-long gap, and the landlord, Calvin Plummer, remembers little. The investigation widens: was Vera a victim, a perpetrator, or a witness? The emotional stakes rise as Josie identifies with Vera's struggles as a single mother and outsider. The mystery of the missing women becomes a metaphor for the ways trauma and secrets can erase people from their own lives.

Old Friends, New Lies

Josie tracks down Beverly's old friends, Kelly and Lana, uncovering conflicting stories about Beverly's relationships, drug use, and the men in her life. Both women recall Beverly's fixation on older men, her lies, and her pregnancy, but details are murky. Lana, now abroad, reveals that Beverly confided in her about the pregnancy and the father's identity, but was secretive. The investigation is hampered by the passage of time and the unreliability of memory. Josie's emotional journey is one of frustration and empathy, as she sees echoes of her own pain in Beverly's story.

The WORMM Club's Web

Josie uncovers the existence of the WORMM Club—a group of wealthy, bored wives (including the Mayor and Marisol Dutton) who partied together, bought drugs from Vera, and shared secrets. Interviews reveal a culture of addiction, infidelity, and denial. Vera was their supplier, but also their friend, and the club's dynamics are fraught with jealousy and betrayal. The Mayor's involvement adds political pressure and moral ambiguity. The emotional arc is one of disillusionment, as Josie realizes the town's elite are as damaged and culpable as anyone else.

The Pregnant Bully

The investigation reveals that Beverly was involved with multiple men, including an older, married man with a skull tattoo. Photos hidden among Vera's belongings confirm the affair, and DNA evidence later ties the baby to Kurt Dutton, a powerful local developer and mayoral candidate. The truth is devastating: Beverly was exploited, silenced, and abandoned by the adults around her. Josie's empathy for her former bully grows, and the emotional arc shifts from anger to sorrow, as the full tragedy of Beverly's life and death is revealed.

The Drug Dealer's Circle

Vera's life after Beverly's death is reconstructed: addicted, isolated, and living under assumed identities, she survives through the financial support of Marisol Dutton, funneled through a charitable foundation. Vera's complicity in the cover-up is driven by fear and desperation. The investigation into Vera's associates, including Silas Murphy and the WORMM Club, exposes a network of secrets, blackmail, and mutual destruction. Josie's emotional journey is one of understanding the corrosive power of shame and the lengths people will go to survive.

Hiding in Plain Sight

When Beverly's body is found, Vera returns to Denton, intent on finally telling the truth. She contacts Josie, but before she can confess, she is shot and killed during a clandestine meeting. The murder is staged to look like a silencing, and suspicion falls on those with the most to lose. The emotional impact is profound: Josie is wracked with guilt for failing to protect Vera, and the case becomes a race against time to prevent further violence. The floodwaters, both literal and metaphorical, threaten to wash away the last chance for justice.

The Mayor's Complicity

The investigation uncovers the Mayor's deep involvement in the WORMM Club, the drug trade, and the cover-up of Beverly's murder. Political maneuvering, media manipulation, and personal vendettas complicate the search for the truth. The Mayor's willingness to sacrifice others to protect her own reputation is exposed, and the town's faith in its leaders is shattered. Josie's emotional arc is one of righteous anger and determination, as she refuses to let power and privilege stand in the way of justice.

The Truth in the Flood

The final pieces fall into place: Kurt Dutton, confronted with evidence of his affair with Beverly and the paternity of her child, is killed by his wife Marisol in a violent confrontation. Marisol confesses to funding Vera's exile and, ultimately, to killing Vera to keep her secrets safe. The emotional climax is a maelstrom of grief, rage, and catharsis, as Josie and her team risk their lives in a literal and metaphorical flood to bring the truth to light. The town's sins are exposed, and the survivors are left to pick up the pieces.

The Final Confrontation

In a harrowing sequence, Josie and Gretchen confront Marisol at the edge of the flood zone. A landslide, a desperate fight in the water, and a last-minute rescue by Sawyer Hayes (Josie's newly discovered cousin) bring the case to a close. Marisol is arrested, and the full extent of the town's complicity is revealed. The emotional resolution is bittersweet: justice is served, but at great cost, and the scars of the past remain.

Foundations and Forgiveness

In the aftermath, Josie buries Beverly and Vera beside Ray, symbolically laying the past to rest. She reconciles with her grandmother, Lisette, and begins to accept Sawyer as family. The team gathers to honor the dead and support the living. Josie's emotional journey comes full circle: from anger and suspicion to empathy and forgiveness. The case has forced her to confront her own trauma, question her foundations, and ultimately choose to build something new—rooted in truth, love, and the hard-won wisdom of survival.

Characters

Josie Quinn

Josie is the emotional and investigative center of the story—a detective shaped by childhood trauma, loss, and a fierce sense of justice. Her relationships are complex: she is haunted by her late husband Ray's possible secrets, struggles with her grandmother's new family revelations, and is both leader and protector to her team. Josie's psychological depth is marked by compartmentalization, guilt, and a drive to save others as a way to redeem her own past. Over the course of the case, she is forced to confront her own vulnerabilities, question her memories, and ultimately find forgiveness for herself and others. Her development is a journey from suspicion and anger to empathy and acceptance.

Beverly Urban

Beverly is both a symbol and a person: the high school bully whose disappearance was never questioned, the pregnant teenager exploited and silenced by adults. Her life is marked by pain, longing for love, and a desperate search for identity. Beverly's relationships—with her mother Vera, her friends, and the men in her life—are fraught with betrayal and secrecy. In death, she becomes a catalyst for truth, forcing the town to reckon with its failures. Psychologically, Beverly embodies the consequences of neglect, abuse, and the toxic dynamics of power and shame.

Vera Urban

Vera is a tragic figure: a single mother, drug dealer, and ultimately a woman forced into hiding by fear and guilt. Her relationship with Beverly is fraught—marked by love, frustration, and mutual pain. Vera's complicity in the cover-up of Beverly's murder is driven by desperation and the manipulations of those more powerful than herself. Her psychological arc is one of survival at any cost, but also of longing for redemption. Her return to Denton and attempt to confess is an act of courage, cut short by violence.

Ray Quinn

Ray is both a memory and a mystery: Josie's childhood sweetheart, protector, and the possible link to Beverly's death. His jacket, his actions, and his secrets haunt Josie throughout the investigation. Ray represents the fragility of trust and the ways in which the past can never be fully known. Psychologically, he is both a victim and a perpetrator—shaped by his own trauma and capable of both great love and great harm.

Marisol Dutton

Marisol is the story's most complex antagonist: a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, forced to give up her child, and ultimately driven to murder to protect her secrets. Her relationships—with Vera, Kurt, and the WORMM Club—are transactional and fraught with jealousy and betrayal. Psychologically, Marisol is both victim and villain, her actions shaped by fear, shame, and a desperate need for control. Her confession and downfall are both tragic and cathartic.

Kurt Dutton

Kurt is the embodiment of privilege and predation: a powerful developer, political candidate, and serial abuser of young women. His affair with Beverly, his role in her death, and his manipulation of those around him make him the story's central villain. Psychologically, Kurt is narcissistic, entitled, and ultimately self-destructive. His death at Marisol's hands is both justice and tragedy.

Gretchen Palmer

Gretchen is Josie's anchor within the team: a seasoned detective, survivor of her own trauma, and a source of emotional support. Her relationship with Josie is marked by honesty, empathy, and a willingness to challenge her when necessary. Psychologically, Gretchen is pragmatic, resilient, and deeply compassionate. Her development is one of quiet strength and steadfast loyalty.

Lisette Matson

Lisette is Josie's surrogate mother and emotional foundation. Her own history of loss and survival shapes her relationship with Josie, and her late-in-life discovery of a new grandson forces both women to confront the meaning of family. Psychologically, Lisette is wise, loving, and fiercely protective, but also capable of making hard choices for the sake of those she loves.

Sawyer Hayes

Sawyer enters Josie's life as a paramedic and, unexpectedly, as her cousin. His presence challenges Josie's sense of identity and belonging, but ultimately offers her a chance to expand her definition of family. Psychologically, Sawyer is steady, kind, and open-hearted—a contrast to the secrecy and suspicion that pervade the story.

Amber Watts

Amber is initially viewed with suspicion as the Mayor's plant, but proves herself to be an ally. Her role as a communicator and her willingness to take risks for the truth make her a key player in the resolution of the case. Psychologically, Amber is ambitious, resourceful, and eager to belong—a mirror to Josie's own struggles with trust and acceptance.

Plot Devices

Dual Timelines and Flashbacks

The narrative structure alternates between the present-day investigation and flashbacks to 2004, allowing the reader to experience the events leading up to Beverly's death alongside Josie's unfolding understanding. This device creates suspense, deepens character development, and highlights the ways in which the past shapes the present. The emotional resonance of the flashbacks is heightened by Josie's unreliable memory and the gradual revelation of secrets.

Symbolism of Water and Flood

The literal floodwaters that devastate Denton serve as a powerful metaphor for the emotional and psychological deluge unleashed by the investigation. The rising water exposes hidden bodies, secrets, and the town's moral decay. The motif of drowning—both physical and emotional—recurs throughout, underscoring the characters' struggles to stay afloat amid overwhelming pain.

The High School Jacket

Ray's jacket, found on Beverly's body, is a central plot device: a tangible link between past and present, love and betrayal, innocence and guilt. Its journey—from Ray to Beverly to the morgue—mirrors the journey of the investigation and Josie's own emotional arc. The jacket's symbolism is layered: it is both a relic of lost innocence and a clue to the truth.

Red Herrings and Misdirection

The investigation is marked by a series of red herrings: Ray's possible involvement, Vera's complicity, the Mayor's secrets, and the WORMM Club's web of lies. Each suspect is given plausible motive and opportunity, keeping the reader—and Josie—off balance. The ultimate revelation is both surprising and inevitable, the result of careful foreshadowing and psychological insight.

Thematic Use of Family and Foundations

The story repeatedly asks what it means to belong, to be loved, and to build a foundation for one's life. Josie's struggles with her grandmother's new family, her memories of Ray, and her relationships with her team all revolve around the search for stability and acceptance. The motif of "foundations"—both literal (houses, floods) and metaphorical (trust, love)—is woven throughout, culminating in Josie's decision to forgive, move forward, and build anew.

Analysis

Lisa Regan's Save Her Soul is a masterful exploration of the ways in which trauma, secrecy, and power can shape—and destroy—lives. At its core, the novel is about the cost of silence: the ways in which individuals and communities conspire to bury uncomfortable truths, only to have them resurface with devastating consequences. The flood that ravages Denton is both a literal disaster and a metaphor for the emotional deluge that follows the unearthing of Beverly Urban's body. Through Josie Quinn's relentless investigation, the story interrogates the failures of family, the corrosive effects of shame, and the dangers of unchecked privilege. The novel's structure—alternating between past and present—mirrors the psychological process of uncovering repressed memories and confronting buried pain. The emotional arc is one of descent and redemption: Josie, haunted by her own past, is forced to question everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and justice. In the end, the novel offers a hard-won hope: that even in the aftermath of tragedy, it is possible to build new foundations—rooted not in denial or fear, but in truth, forgiveness, and the courage to face the flood.

Last updated: January 14, 2026