Amazon.com Description:
V.C. Andrews, queen of Gothic fiction for twenty-five years, explores a new genre in her women’s fiction debut—available exclusively as an eBook. A young mother struggles to keep her marriage together in the wake of her daughter’s kidnapping…and to keep hope of her return alive. Grace is the doting mother of Mary, an angelic five-year-old who charms everyone around her. But in one tragic moment at a local shopping mall, Grace looks down to discover that Mary is no longer at her side…and can’t be found anywhere. She and her husband wait by the phone for a ransom demand that never comes. For months Grace believes that Mary is somewhere, alive and safe, waiting to come home to her—but as her family and friends give up hope, Grace’s marriage begins to crumble. Only one detective, Sam Abraham, shares her determination to find Mary…but could his motives be less than altruistic?
As Sam and Mary work together to track Mary’s disappearance, they discover clues that this was more than a random kidnapping—and that Mary may have been special to more than just her mother…
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
This book was a lot different than I was expecting, but definitely in a good way. When I think of VC Andrews books I think of incest, child abuse and sexual awakening. The only aspect that was typical of the author's previous works was religious fanaticism. This book was more of a contemporary adult mystery that dealt with the despair of a mother who lost her daughter.
The suspense starts immediately as we witness Grace's frantic search for her daughter at a local shopping mall. You can feel her terror and frustration as she attempts to locate her to no avail. I enjoyed Grace's POV and I thought the author did a good job of creating a sympathetic character who goes through a range of emotions as she deals with the abduction of her child.
It seemed fairly obvious from the get go that religion has played a part in Mary's abduction. Grace's husband is devout along with her neighbor and the whole town seems to think of Mary as an angel sent from God. The philosophical debates are an interesting addition to the story along with Grace's complex relationship with God in the event of her missing child.
Besides the strong characterization of Grace, I immensely enjoyed the description of the police detective Sam. He was a wonderful character and I loved the intensity of the scenes between him and Grace. They had great chemistry and I thought it was swoonworthy how he risked everything to help bring her daughter home.
The ending disappointed me and I think that's what made this a four star read instead of a five star. I felt some elements were predictable and I wanted to know more about what exactly happened during and after the abduction of Mary. (Spoiler Alert)*** Although Grace's husband experiences an epiphany towards the end, I still didn't feel it redeemed his character and I couldn't help but wish things had worked out with Sam.***
I would definitely recommend this book and if the ghostwriter for the late author continues in this direction, I would certainly read future novels.
Rating: Four out of Five Stars
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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