Don’t Let Go, by Harlan Coben ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Conspiracy, Mystery, Suspense Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 26th, 2017

400 Pages

Synopsis: Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn’t been the same since senior year in high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks—and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, for both Maura and for the real reason behind his brother’s death. And now, it looks like he may finally find what he’s been looking for.

When Maura’s fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only lead to more questions—about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana—whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared to imagine.

I’m a huge fan of Harlan Coben and I’ve reviewed a few of his standalone novels. After finishing Don’t Let Go last night, I can honestly say it’s his best story yet!

Coben starts by relating in his Author’s Note, what inspired him to write this. During the Cold War, there were hundreds of Nike missile sites scattered all over the U.S. These were ostensibly created to shoot down any bombers that Russia may send our way. Many of these bases were located in or near major population centers including the town in New Jersey where Coben grew up and my own town in MA. Naturally these places were magnets for the child and teen residents of the towns. My husband recalls being confronted by an armed soldier when he and a friend got a little too close to the perimeter. Thankfully these sites were all closed by the mid-1970s, especially in light that some of these missiles were tipped with nuclear warheads! So, there’s my brief history lesson, now for the actual review.

Building upon his hometown legend, the book is centered around all the secrets and lies surrounding the deaths of the main character, Nap’s twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana, 15 years ago. While the rest of the town has accepted that this was either a suicide pact, or a tragic accident, Nap has never attained closure, partly because of his belief that the tragedy is tied to to the mysterious disappearance of his own girlfriend, Maura which happened about the same time. Now, a police detective, Nap is determined to uncover the truth, when a former classmate and friend is found murdered, and Maura’s fingerprints turn up at the scene. 

Without a doubt, Nap is one of my favorite characters that Coben has created and that includes Myron Bolitar (who makes a brief appearance) from that popular series. His past, his continuing love for Leo—with who he converses with in his mind, and his stubborn determination to solve this mystery even when others, including friends, seek to discourage him, makes him a likable and relatable character. Like all of the characters that make up this tale, he’s flawed, yet he’s someone you’d not only want in your corner, but also as a friend in real life.

The plot itself takes off immediately from the first page. It’s full menacing and suspenseful, and of red herrings and other surprises, which had me second-guessing myself right up until the satisfying conclusion. While Nap’s quest for the truth is a dark and dangerous one, his sarcastic sense of humor had me laughing more than once.

I think I’ve said this before, but if you haven’t tried Harlan Coben and you’re a fan of suspense/thrillers, you’re missing out! If you don’t want to commit to a series, his standalones are exciting and entertaining, and Don’t Let Go is a great place to start. I guarantee that once you’ve picked it up, you won’t be able to tear yourself away!

 

 

 

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Best Day Ever, by Kaira Rouda ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Relationships, Psychological Suspense, Psychopaths

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: “I glance at my wife as she climbs in the passenger seat, and I am bursting with confidence. Today will be everything I promised her…and more…”

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys, and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to rise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really?

Forcing us to ask ourselves just how well we know those who are closest to us, Best Day Ever crackles with dark energy, spinning ever tighter toward its shocking conclusion. In the bestselling page-turning vein of The Couple Next Door and The Dinner, Kaira Rouda weaves a gripping, tautly suspenseful tale of deception and betrayal dark enough to destroy a marriage…or a life.

Best Day Ever is a dark, creepy and twisted psychological suspense novel that literally made my skin crawl. I just finished it after being glued to its pages for the last three hours, and now I can’t go to sleep!

What makes this story work is that except for the epilogue, it’s told from the first person POV of the antagonist, Paul Strom. From the first page, you can tell there’s something seriously off about this guy. A couple of chapters in, and it’s obvious he’s a narcissistic psychopath. Even more disturbing is that Paul is basically telling the story to the reader. I felt like he was sitting across from me in real life having a conversation with me. I swear, by the end of the book I wanted to scrub out my brain! 

I have to be honest and say there were a few moments where the pace slowed down a bit, mainly because Paul has a tendency to divert from the main storyline into these inner monologues with himself. But when this happens, they don’t last long thankfully. In the beginning, Paul is just thoroughly dislikable, but bit by bit he reveals more about himself and the preceding events that have led up to this momentous day,  until you find out what a monster he truly is.

The plot itself is more a slow-burning suspense until about the last 50 pages, which is where most of the action takes place. I don’t say this as a criticism though. All I can think of as an analogy is of a spider/the author, weaving a web and trapping a fly/the reader. I can’t convey how seriously disturbing this is! And it’s made more so by the banal normality that outwardly surrounds Paul and his wife, Mia. She’s also an interesting case study as at first she seems like a Stepford wife, but before long shows there’s something lurking behind her polished veneer.

Despite Paul’s insistence to himself and Mia that, this is going to be the “best day ever”, things methodically begin to unravel until you start wondering for which one this will be true. While there were some things that were predictable, I found myself caught off guard by others, which kept me at the edge of my seat. The ending ties everything up, and while I’ve read other reviews that complained about the epilogue, which switches to someone else’s POV, I actually thought it was the perfect way to end things.

In the end, Best Day Ever, despite not being action packed, has plenty of thrills and chills which will keep readers mesmerized until the very last page. While this works as a standalone, I’ve heard rumors there may be a sequel, which if that’s the case, I’ll definitely be picking it up. I highly recommend this to fans of slow burning suspense with sketchy narrators. It’s definitely going on my top ten list of most memorable reads of 2017!

 

Burntown, by Jennifer McMahon ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Coming of Age Stories, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

336 Pages

Synopsis: Eva grew up watching her father, Miles, invent strange and wonderful things in the small workshop behind their house on the river that runs through their old mill town. But the most important invention of all was the one Miles claimed came from the mind of Thomas Edison himself–a machine that allowed one to speak with loved ones long passed. Smuggled out of Edison’s laboratory, the blueprints were passed down to Miles, and he’s been using them to protect Eva, her mother Lily, and her brother, Errol, ever since.

Then, one night when a storm is raging and the river is threatening to flood, the machine whirrs to life on it’s own. Danger, it says. You’re in terrible danger. The next thing Eva knows is waking up on the side of the river and seeing her mother’s grim face. Eva’s father and brother are dead, their house has been washed away and an evil man is searching for them both. They need to hide.

Eva changes her name to Necco–a candy she always loved–and tries to put everything in the past behind her as she adapts to her new life off the grid. But when her boyfriend is murdered and her mother disappears, she know the past is starting to catch up to her.

What really happened the night of the flood? As Necco searches for the truth, her journey unites her with two women who are on desperate quests of their own. And as the trio follows the clues to solving the mystery of Necco’s past, they discover that sometimes it’s the smallest towns that hide the strangest secrets.

Burntown is a genre-defying novel that’s an interesting mix of coming-of-age, supernatural, fantasy, science fiction, mystery and suspense. I’ve read previous books by Jennifer McMahon’s and one thing I’ve learned is to expect the unexpected, and this latest book is no different.

In addition to the quirky characters, there are mysterious murders, a flood, an obese former circus performer, a machine that may let you communicate with the dead, and a sinister figure wearing a chicken mask. Yes. You read that last bit correctly! While it seems as though all these separate elements are just too dissimilar to work together, somehow the author weaves everything together in an entertaining way.  

The story might be a bit strange, but it’s oddly enjoyable. The only reason why I’m marking this down is because after being captivated throughout the entire book, I found the ending to be a bit anticlimactic. Overall though, Jennifer McMahon has once again proven what an imaginative writer she is. Burntown is a vividly written tale with endearing and memorable characters, and a unique and suspenseful plot.

 

 

 

 

Curses ~ By Calvin Dean – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Humor, Paranormal, Romance

Thanks to the author for providing this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

320 Pages

Synopsis: Martin Gallagher buys an old house in the country. While pursuing Hannah, a widow from the neighborhood, he encounters a sexy but psychotic ghost named Agnes. To make matters worse, Agnes is dead-set on derailing his blossoming romance.

Meanwhile, an eccentric medium offers to help Martin exorcise his home, but this means resisting the temptress, encountering the bizarre, and braving supernatural encounters. Can Martin overcome his desires and fears long enough to lift the dreaded curse?

Curses is just one of those books that you come to the end and think “Now that was fun!” It’s creative, and original, and has one of the most likable main characters that I’ve come across.

The book is split into three parts and I found the first two to be the most enjoyable. Martin is a character I wish I knew in real life. He’s intelligent, sweet and funny, and somehow maintains a calm demeanor even while dealing with crazy and unexpected supernatural happenings. I loved his relationship with Hannah, but his dealings with Agnes, the psychotic ghost, had me in stitches!

Overall, Curses is a wildly entertaining book that I highly recommend to fans who like some humor mixed in with their horror. This was my first book by Calvin Dean, but it definitely won’t be my last!

What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror (John Dies At the End #3), by David Wong ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Satire, Supernatural Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

384 Pages

Synopsis: NYT bestselling author Wong takes readers to a whole new level with his latest dark comic sci-fi thriller, set in the world of John Dies At the End and This Book Is Full of Spiders. Dave, John and Amy recount what seems like a straightforward tale of a shape-shifting creature from another dimension that is stealing children and brainwashing their parents, but it eventually becomes clear that someone is lying, and that someone is the narrators.

The novel you’re reading is a cover-up, and the “true” story reveals itself in the cracks of their hilariously convoluted, and sometimes contradictory narrative. 

Equal parts terrifying and darkly comedic in his writing, David Wong “will be remembered as one of today’s great satirists”. (Nerdist)

If ever a book was more aptly titled, this would be it! Like it’s two predecessors, What the Hell Did I Just Read is a crazy thrill ride unlike any book you’ve ever read!

David, John and Amy once again find themselves involved with yet another “otherworldly” occurrence. And of course that puts them at odds with the police, the FBI, a motorcycle gang, a kick-ass woman who’s prepared for anything, and an ex-special forces man. And from there, hilarity ensues with the use of some spectacularly odd weapons like flying dildos filled with sulfur and blue beams that erase minds. 

And of course no adventure would be complete without John and Dave imbibing that special Soy Sauce, which adds to the sheer craziness of the story. Thankfully, the sweet yet totally badass Amy is there to keep everyone grounded.

With What the Hell Did I Just Read, once again David Wong has dreamed up a highly imaginative tale that brilliantly combines horror and satirical humor. It’s an absolutely bonkers trip that in my opinion not only is his best book yet, but also solidifies Mr. Wong’s place in literary fiction. Although you can read this as a standalone,  I recommend you read the previous two books in this series if you haven’t already, in order to get the full effect of this of this dauntless trio and their zany adventures, before jumping into this. Otherwise, I HIGHLY recommend this for fans of slapstick comedic horror. As the author states:

You want to hear a story? Well, buckle the fuck up!

 

 

 

The Luster Of Lost Things, by Sophie Chen Keller ~ 5++++++++++ Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Disabilities, Family Bonds, Friendships, Magical Realism, Societal Roles

Thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing an ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

304 Pages

Synopsis: Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wear of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting.

But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Forth he has The Lavenders—mother’s enchanted dessert shop, where marzipan dragons breathe actual fire. He also has a knack for tracking down any missing thing—except his lost father.

So, when the Book at the root of the bakery’s magic vanishes, Walter, accompanied by his overweight golden retriever, journeys through New York City to find it—along the way encountering an unforgettable cast of lost souls. 

Steeped in nostalgic wonder, The Luster of Lost Things explores the depths of our capacity for kindness and our ability to heal. A lyrical meditation on why we become lost and how we are found, from the bright, broken heart of a boy who knows where to look for everyone but himself.

You guys! This book! I’m not sure how to even begin except to say that while I’ve read some fantastic books so far this year, The Luster of Lost Things surpasses them all!

Walter Lavender Jr. is a thirteen-year-old boy who is not only dealing with a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for him to communicate, but he longs for his father who went missing before he was born. Because he’s “different” from his classmates, he doesn’t have any friends, and is the victim of bullying. But he has his loving and devoted mother, Lucy, and their magical bakery, The Lavenders. There, it’s completely normal to see chocolate mice jump rope with licorice, and other desserts come to life. The source of the magic is the Book, a gift given to Lucy, one cold winter’s night by a woman to whom Lucy gave shelter. I’m trying really hard not to include any spoilers, so I’m just going to say that ever since the Book was left, the, desserts came to life and the shop prospered. 

When the Book mysteriously disappears, the magic also departs and the future of the shop is in peril thanks to a new greedy landlord. So, young Walter, who has an uncanny knack for finding lost things, accompanied by his best friend and Golden Retriever, Milton, embarks upon a quest to find the missing book. Along the way he meets some incredible people who turn his journey into much more than a quest to find a magical book. This turns into a voyage of self-discovery, where Walter gains confidence in himself which in turn leads him to successfully form lasting connections to the people he meets. 

Walter is one of the most likable, charming and relatable characters I’ve come across in a very long time. By the end of the first chapter he stole my heart and I felt as though I was inside the story accompanying him and Milton as they traveled through the gritty streets of New York City on their mission. All of the characters in this book, including Milton are vividly brought to life, and each of them have a hand in young Walter’s transformation. 

There are really three parts to this book. The beginning which is set in the bakery and is full of magical realism. Then there’s the middle, where Walter is away from the warmth and safety of his mother and their shop. And finally, the ending which has Walter back where he began, albeit a much different boy then when he left. There have been many reviewers who have commented that they loved the beginning, but found Walter’s journey too slow. I have to respectfully disagree. While Walter’s quest does depart from the magical realism the book opens with, that doesn’t take away from the connections he makes with the quirky people he meets. And while, they all help him in some fashion, the positive impact he has on them is truly remarkable. 

Writing an adult book from a child’s perspective can’t be easy, and when that child suffers from a speech disorder, well, that’s almost unheard of. The only other book I’ve read that’s successfully done this is The Curious Incident of the Dog In Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. Sophie Chen Keller brilliantly brings to life this young boy who is highly intelligent and knows what he wants to say, yet frustratingly struggles to say the words out loud. We see the story unfold through his eyes and thoughts, and it’s a wondrous thing because Walter’s world is amazing and beautiful. 

The Luster of Lost Things is one of those rare books that if you read it, you’ll remember for it a very long time. I wish I had tons of money, because I’d buy hundreds of copies and leave them in train stations, subways, park benches, restaurants, mail them to all of you and, well, you get the picture. As I’m not rich, I’m just going to encourage everyone who reads this review to buy themselves a copy, or borrow it from their library. This is an uplifting and beautifully told tale with a boy who will touch your heart in ways you can’t imagine. It’s a confectionery delight that is a lovely respite from the real world. Please, give yourself a gift that will not only give you the warm fuzzies, but will also remind you what’s truly important in life.

 

The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream (Virtue Falls #4), Christina Dodd ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: Beautiful Merida is married to a wealthy older man who takes her around the world as his trophy. Merida is everything a man could want. But a traumatic accident years before left her unable to speak. When her husband dies, she knows it’s her chance to exact revenge on those responsible for her accident—and that vengeance begins in Virtue Falls. Reinventing herself, she slips into village life, biding her time. But someone knows exactly who she is and will use this chance to finish what was started years ago. And this time an accident for Merida will mean silencing her forever.

The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is the 4th book in Christina Dodd’s Virtue Falls series, and although I haven’t read the first three books, for the most part I had no problem following along. 

Although the premise makes it sound like the book is all about Merida, there’s another main character whose viewpoint also tells the story, Kateri. Both women share a past as well as a few other similarities. Despite the trauma they’ve both suffered from these are strong female characters and I liked both of them. That said, I do think the story would have been better served if it had just focused on one of the women. I grew frustrated at times when a revelation was about to be uncovered about Merida, only to be yanked into Kateri’s story. 

The plot itself focuses more on mystery instead of romance, and it kept me guessing with its many twists and turns. It’s extremely fast-paced and I breezed through it in two sittings.

The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is really two stories that are connected by a very fine line. It’s a bit disorganized at times, but its fast pace, intriguing mystery, and likable main characters kept me reading. It’s also made me want to go back and read the other books in the series, so that’s a plus. Despite the issues I had with this, I’d recommend it for fans of mystery and suspense with some light romance thrown in.

Wicked Fallout (Pretty Wicked #2), by Kelly Charron ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Serial Killers

Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Arts Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

358 Pages

Synopsis: Convicted of six murders when she was just fifteen, the notorious Ryann Wilkanson hasn’t been able to act on her darkest, deadliest urges for twelve years. She’s exhausted her appeals and has little hope of ever getting out of prison and back to hunting.

Until a media-hungry legal team mounts a campaign to do the impossible–get her immediately released with a commuted sentence.

Forensic psychiatrist Nancy Clafin in has mere weeks to evaluate Ryann’s current mental state against her grisly past to determine if she’s changed. But under the shadow of her own questionable history, it’s not easy to separate her personal life from her professional duty.

At least that’s what Ryann is counting on. 

Behind the cold steel doors of a Colorado maximum-security prison, will Nancy find a cold-blooded killer or a newly redeemed woman determined to right her past wrongs?

Wicked Fallout is the sequel to last years Pretty Wicked, and while it can be read as a standalone, I recommend you read the previous book before diving into this. Another word of warning: While Pretty Wicked was definitely in the older YA genre, this book is more for adults. 

So, twelve years after young Ryann went on killing spree through her town, she’s now twenty-seven and safely locked up in a maximum-security prison…for now. The question is, after more than a decade behind bars, has Ryann truly repented, and is she ready to become a productive member of society? You don’t think I’m going to tell you, do you? MOWAHAHA! Nope! You’re going to have to read the book to find out for yourself!

Most of the story revolves around Ryann’s life in prison, her interactions with the other inmates, and her visits with forensic psychiatrist Nancy Clafin. There’s also some alternate chapters that relate what’s happening with Nancy’s home life and her family. While the first book was pure horror, this one falls more into the psychological suspense category. There’s not as much action in this story, but that really doesn’t make it any less compelling. Pretty Wicked conjured images of a Buffy gone bad, while Wicked Fallout made me think of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.

I did find the pacing of the first half of the story a little slow, because some of it was spent rehashing the events of the first book. However, it was interesting seeing Nancy’s interaction with Ryann during their sessions, and seeing how she agonized over whether she believed her or not.

The second half, though had me completely captivated as Ryann’s relationships with other prisoners grew more heated, and her sessions with Nancy got more and more suspenseful as the clocked ticked down to the deadline on whether Ryann’s sentence should be commuted. I was so absorbed and tense, that I actually caught myself nervously biting my fingernails!

Wicked Fallout is a fantastic sequel in Kelly Charron’s Pretty Wicked series, and after a jaw dropping ending, to say that I’m looking forward to the next book is putting it mildly! I cannot recommend this series enough to fans of horror and suspense, and psychological thrillers!

 

 

Ginny Moon, by Benjamin Ludwig ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Autism, Dysfunctional Families

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: For the first time in her life, Ginny Moon has found her “forever home”–a place where she’ll be safe and protected, with a family that will love and nurture her. It’s exactly the kind of home that all foster kids are hoping for. So why is this 14-year-old so desperate to to get kidnapped by her abusive, drug-addict birth mother, Gloria, and return to a grim existence of hiding under the kitchen sink to avoid authorities and her mother’s violent boyfriends?

While Ginny is pretty much your average teenager–she plays flute in the band, has weekly basketball practice and studies Robert Frost poems for English class–she is autistic. And so what’s important to Ginny includes starting every day with exactly nine grapes for breakfast, Michael Jackson, bacon-pineapple pizza and, most of all, getting back to Gloria so she can take care of her baby doll.

Ginny Moon is a compulsively readable and touching novel about being an outsider trying to find a place to belong and making sense of a world that just doesn’t seem to add up.

Ginny Moon has been receiving a lot of rave reviews, and for the most part I completely concur. 

The story is told from Ginny’s first person POV, which sets a personal tone from the first page. It took me a few chapters to get used to her voice, as she is autistic. Benjamin Ludwig has experience working with special needs children and it’s obvious that he put a lot of additional research into this topic. I have to give him kudos, for being able to climb into the mind of a young teenage girl who’s autistic. This is no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination! Ginny’s voice is so authentic, honest, and raw, that well before the halfway point, I absolutely loved her. While there’s quite a bit of sadness in both her past and current situations, there’s also a fair bit of humor as well.

The main reason why this isn’t receiving 5 stars from me, is because of what has become one of my biggest pet peeves. Unlikable, one dimensional adult characters. I honestly couldn’t stand any of them, but thankfully Ginny is such a strong protagonist that she pretty much carries the entire story on her young shoulders. 

The only other issue I have is that I think the book could have used a little more editing. There were parts of the story that got repetitious at times, and this somewhat slowed down the pace. There were also certain aspects of the storyline that were a bit crazy and unbelievable.

Overall though, Ginny Moon is a suspenseful story featuring an unforgettable new literary heroine, and I was loathe to say goodbye. Ginny is someone I believe everyone should have in their life to remind them of what’s important. While this excellent debut is definitely a standalone, I can’t help hoping that Benjamin Ludwig revisits this amazing young girl! 

The Girl Who Was Taken, by Charlie Donlea – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Abduction, Adult Fiction, Mystery, Relationships, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

320 Pages

Synopsis: Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. When they disappear from a beach party one warm summer night, police launch a massive search. No clues are found, and hope is almost lost until Megan miraculously surfaces after escaping from a bunker deep in the woods.

A year later, the bestselling account her ordeal has turned Megan into from local hero to nation celebrity. It’s a triumphant, inspiring story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing. Nicole’s older sister Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day Nicole’s body will be found, and it will be up to someone like Livia to analyze the evidence and finally determine her sister’s fate. Instead, the first clue to Nicole’s disappearance comes from another body that shows up in Livia’s morgue. that of a young man connected to Nicole’s past. Livia reaches out to Megan for help, hoping to learn more about the night the two were taken. Other girls have gone missing too, and Livia is increasingly certain that the cases are connected.

But Megan knows more than she revealed in her blockbuster book. Flashes of memory are coming together, pointing to something darker and more monstrous than her chilling memoir describes. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you’ve been looking for.

The Girl Who Was Taken is the first book I’ve read by Charlie Donlea, but I’m certain it won’t be my last! The only reason why I’m not giving this a perfect 5 stars, is because I thought the beginning was a little slow. There’s a lot going on with Megan and Nicole, with switching POVs and timeframes, and it took me a few chapters to get comfortable with the author’s writing style, but once I did I was completely glued to the pages and finished it in two sittings. 

Livia was my favorite character. She’s career driven and also shows a fierce determination to finding out what happened to Nicole. I can’t even imagine working as a forensic pathologist and having the ever present fear in the back of my head that the next dead body that comes in may be my missing sister’s. Yet Livia doesn’t let this effect her job performance, nor does it deter her from trying to find her search. Once Megan returns, and Livia finds what she believes may be the first clue on a body that shows up in the morgue, the two of them work together to uncover the truth of what happened that night. Other girls have also gone missing and while the police don’t see a connection, Livia does. Unfortunately, Megan is suffering from flashbacks and missing time, which further complicates things. 

As the narrative moves back and forth from months before Megan’s and Nicole’s abduction, to the present, in addition to the tension rising, you get to see how two girls who started off as good friends, wound up as enemies, although this was mostly on Nicole’s part. And the odd thing is, that even through these flashbacks, I found Nicole to be an obnoxious, jealous, attention-seeking twit, I was still fully invested in learning what happened to her. 

There were so many twists and turns, that all of my detective work wound up being wrong. There are definitely moments that require a little suspended disbelief, but nothing that’s over the top. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough because I needed to know what happened. The ending perfectly fits this harrowing tale, and while it leaves some loose threads, I’ve heard rumors there’s to be a sequel so I’m not taking any points off. 

The Girl Who Was Taken, is a well written mystery and suspense story that’s filled with realistic and relatable characters, and will keep you second guessing right up until the end. I cannot recommend it highly enough!