Behind These Four Walls
Yasmin Angoe
Thomas & Mercer
January 2026
Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Angoe explores revenge, morality, corruption, and wealth. Although the story started out slightly ambiguous after the first few chapters, readers will not want to put the book down.
“I first got the idea for the setting. It came to me in bits and pieces. For me, the location comes first. The setting has one lane roads in the mountains. I thought how a car could fall down a mountain. Then I thought of this rich family, their dynamics, and how a friend, Isla, investigates her friend’s, Eden, disappearance. It’s a David versus Goliath story where she must infiltrate the family with the money, power, and unlimited resources.”
The main character, Isla Thorne, was orphaned at an early age. She makes friends with Eden Galloway and her mother, Elise, who were more like family to Isla. But after Elise dies, Isla and Eden decide to run away to Los Angeles, making a stop in Virginia, where Eden was determined to confront the family that had driven her mother out. Eden disappears and is never heard from again.
“Isla feels inadequate, protective, quick witted, determined, and goes undercover because she is obsessed with finding answers. She had a traumatic experience with her father that has caused her to be tenacious and unafraid. She works with others to find information on people but seems to have a sense of justice and morality. When she sees something is wrong, she tries to rectify the issues that Isla feels she was a part of her.”
Fast forward to the present, ten years later. Isla is now posing as an aspiring journalist hired by Victor, the patriarch of the powerful Corrigan family, for a personal piece. Desperate for answers to her friend’s disappearance and to keep her identity hidden, Isla wades deeper into this power-hungry family’s secrets and lies, finding herself in the crosshairs of a bloodline that’s more lethal than loyal.
I wrote Eden as Isla’s best friend, sister-like, and disappeared when Isla was a teenager. She never went to the police and lived her life for the ten years since Eden’s disappearance. Isla improved her life yet never forgot her friend. She showed her loyalty after becoming inspired when something turned up about the family, the Corrigans, who had last seen Eden. She feels betrayed by her family. Bennett is competitive with her. She is sensitive, compassionate, caring, and nice.”
This is a riveting thriller that is a page turner. Readers will take the dangerous journey with Isla as she discovers what happened to Eden while confronting the powerful and wealthy family.
