Crashout

An ex-piano prodigy desperate to regain her former glory discovers inspiration in acts of murder in this addictive and twisted suspense novel by Canwen Xu, author of Boring Asian Female.

Mias life is divided into two parts: before the accident and after the accident.

Before the accident, Mia was a piano prodigy. Starting at age five, she received first place trophies in every competition, performed at Carnegie Hall, and graduated from Juilliard. Over the years, she developed a steady income stream through her popular social media channel, where she performed pieces and shared snippets of her polished life. Mias entire purpose revolved around the piano, and she was on her way to a promising career. Her mother couldnt be more proud.

After the accident, everything changed. Mias left hand never fully recovered, forcing her to quit performing. Now she gives lessons to spoiled kids on the Upper East Side in their lavish homes and watches her best friend Jessicas piano videos that suspiciously resemble her old ones. When Mia finds even more damning evidence that Jessica is copying her, she cant fight the rage, and one night as her friend sits perched on a windowsill, Mia simply... pushes. Now Jessica can no longer copy her.

But in the aftermath, something surprising happens: for the first time, Mia composes. Through the murder of her best friend, she feels a catharsis, a transcendence that inspires her to create a beautiful piece – with the notes and images of Jessicas body crashing against each other in her head.

Its addicting, this feeling. And she doesnt want to give it up.