The Harmony is my first novel, which will be published by Random House on August 17, 2027.
Please scroll on for more information about the book, and some nice things that kind writers said about it.
A daughter’s search for the father she’s never known leads her into the path of a domestic terrorist in this gripping literary suspense novel about family secrets, radical belief, and our complicated relationship with the natural world.
Holly Wright is grieving. The death of her mother, Jane, a celebrated scientist, has left her unmoored. But she is driven forward, determined to find her father, a man whose identity was kept secret from her. Holly is desperate to hear her father’s story, and she and her best friend, Mimi, follow decades-old clues across the American West in search of a man who has disappeared into the wilderness.
High in the mountains, Nils Eisen has lived alone for twenty-three years. As his health begins to fail, he knows time is running out to explain the choices that shaped his life, including why he left behind the daughter he has never met. Hoping she might one day find him, he begins writing the story only he can tell.
But is there more to his story?
For years, an extremist known only as Foxglove has terrorized genetic engineers with a campaign of mail bombings. As Holly uncovers unsettling connections between her father's past and Foxglove's manifesto, her search becomes increasingly dangerous. Will the truth waiting in the wilderness change everything she believes about family, herself, and the fragile balance between humanity and nature?
Propulsive, emotionally resonant, and deeply thought-provoking, The Harmony is an enthralling page-turner about grief, belonging, and the stories that shape who we become.
Praise for The Harmony
“Jared Bland’s debut accomplishes a rare trick: brilliantly paced, emotionally compelling, and just plain fun to read. The Harmony is a tense yet tender novel about the secrets we keep, the way we contend with a changing world, and the endless ripples of consequence that spread outwards from both. This is a book that’s very hard to put down.”
—Omar El Akkad, National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This, What Strange Paradise, and American War
“Jared Bland has (somehow) written a novel of true mystery and moral complexity that is both page-turning and thought-provoking in equal measure. At times humorous and profound, The Harmony is a moving exploration of relationships, family, connection, compassion, and how we do (and do not) fit in with each other and the natural world. Gripping, remarkable, indelible.”
—Iain Reid, New York Times bestselling author of I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Foe, and We Spread
“The Harmony is a propulsive read that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening and engaging. When Holly loses her beloved mother, she sets out on a search for the story of her family. She finds answers on the largest possible scale, but also on the smallest—that little matters beyond what’s in front of you in the moment. I loved this novel.”
—Claire Cameron, Governor General's Literary Award–winning and bestselling author of How To Survive a Bear Attack and The Last Neanderthal
“I was totally gripped and incredibly moved by The Harmony. Jared Bland has written a novel about a deep and unshakable connectedness that is both propulsive and full of high emotional stakes. I could not put The Harmony down, and I fell in love with protagonist Holly Wright’s tenacity and charm. What a rare and thoughtful debut.”
—Sarah Hagi, writer and co-host of the Ambie award–winning podcast Scamfluencers