I figured out the whodunit part very early on, but for once it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story, and I stayed hooked from start to finish.
Holly was kidnapped when she was 4-years-old and was unexpectedly returned three months later, physically unharmed but for a scar on her arm. The person who kidnapped her was never caught, but now, more than two decades later, another girl is taken. Holly’s mother Cecily might have the answers, but she’s in a coma after driving her car off the road.
A few different characters are presented who could have had something to do with the kidnappings, and I liked how the author slowly teased out who had the true motive, using chapters mostly from Holly’s point of view, but also from her comatose mother’s, which sounds stranger than it actually is in the book. Based on the development of the characters throughout the book, I wonder if the author could better relate to Cecily as the mother because her chapters were almost more personal than Holly’s.
One element I feel was missing, though, was survivor’s guilt from Holly, either from what happened to her as a child, especially after finding out about the other missing girl, or about anyone else that was affected in the present time. She is obviously trying to piece together the puzzle of her past and her lack of memories, and it is mentioned that she’s seeing a therapist, but it still felt flat. Still a suspense book worth a read.
Disclosure: I received an e-gallery from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.