The Gentle Child: A Psychological Thriller

By: Cross, Thad

THE GENTLE CHILDRaised with kindness. Rooted in poison.

Emily Caldwell did everything right. She moved her family to a secluded farmhouse to escape the toxins of the modern world. She raised her fourteen-year-old daughter, Mary Kate, with "gentle parenting," organic food, and absolutely no screens. They live a quiet life of gardening, reading, and peace.

But something is rotting in the garden.

Mary Kate is... different. She is too quiet. Too observant. And she has a fascination with poisonous plants that goes beyond a hobby. When Emily finds the neighbor's cat buried in the compost bin, she tells herself it was an accident. When a bully at Mary Kate's Waldorf school collapses with mysterious symptoms, Emily tells herself it's a coincidence.

Then, Emily finds the file on the family's dusty computer.

It is titled The Garden Management Plan. It details a cold, calculated strategy to "restore equilibrium" to the household. It calls for the removal of the "Mother Root."

Terrified that she has raised a monster, Emily takes drastic measures to protect her family, locking Mary Kate away. But in a house built on silence, Emily is about to learn that she has drastically underestimated her daughter. Mary Kate isn't just a gentle child. She is a survivor.

And she knows the first rule of the garden: To save the flower, you have to kill the pest.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G6512HF1
• ISBN13: 9798278115793
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"