The book begins when we meet Eve Dennett. She's married to a prominent Chicago Judge but her unhappiness is immediately evident. Her stifled life is made all the worse when it comes to her attention through her daughter's friends that Mia is missing. No one has seen Eve's daughter in at least twenty four hours. Eve's obstreperous husband Judge James Dennett, a very wealthy and powerful man, seems to think his daughter Mia is just playing them for a fool and has gone on some adventure from which she will return shortly. This does not prevent the Judge from calling in favors to get Detective Gabe Hoffman put on the case immediately. The fact that Mia is a responsible art teacher in a downtown school means nothing to her aggressive and disparaging father who looks down on both his wife and daughter with contempt. This is our first glimpse into a severely broken family and as Detective Hoffman investigates, we continue to learn more about how terrible it can be when you're trapped, whether you're kidnapped or just unhappily married.
The author uses an original method to tell her story. Mary Kubica moves us back and forth through time, using Mia's kidnapping as the apex of the time shift. We see the entire situation through all the eyes involved, including the kidnapper, Colin Thatcher. Kubica has written an exquisite novel that I'd certainly give more than five stars if I could. She forces her audience to ache for the mother's loss. The reader is pulled into this literary mystery right from page one. This mysterious book is a slow burn, keeping the angst at the perfect level for the reader. It keeps you reading, page after page, as you hunger for answers that only the author can provide.
I predict this book will be the break-out book of 2014 just like "Gone Girl" (by Gillian Flynn) was in 2012. Put this book on your short list to read this year, you won't regret it.
Published by Harlequin MIRA on July 29, 2014.
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This sounds intriguing.The storyline seemed familiar and I realized that there is a tv series about to start in my country which probably is based on this book.I loved Gone girl,so will keep this in my wishlist too.:-)
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