The story is very well laid out, and the characters are believable. Overall, a very good read. ( )

All the Way Home by Wendy Corsi Staub was originally published is 2007. It has recently been reissued in digital format.

When Rory was child her older sister, Carleen, disappeared. In short order, her best friend also disappeared as well as several other girls in their town. Then Rory's father passed away, leaving her mentally ill mother behind. Rory couldn't handle it and left to become an artist. Her brother Kevin took care of her younger sister, Molly, and their mother for years. Now, Kevin and his girlfriend want to take a European vacation. So, Rory comes home for awhile.
When she arrives she finds her mother's mental health is far worse than she imagined. On top of that her younger sister is resentful of Rory for staying away so long and is going through the early teen years. Molly does a great deal of babysitting for the young couple next door, Michelle and Lou and their two year old son, Ozzie.
Michelle and Lou live in the house where Rory's best friend, Emily lived until she disappeared. Now Michelle, who is pregnant with her second child, and alone in the house much of the time, believes she hears noises coming from Ozzie's room and Rory thinks she can smell Carleen's signature perfume from time to time.
When Molly's best friend, Rebecca, disappears on the anniversary of Carleen's disappearance, the town gets nervous and the media zooms in. This brings in a true crime author that may hold a secret to Carleen's activities right before she vanished.

This is one of those books that left me in the limbo between a three and a four star rating. So, really, I would have given it a 3.5 if I could have.
The Gothic ambience is right up my alley. Large old houses that may be haunted, mysterious and strange characters that may or may not be sinister, and a decade old unsolved case, plus dark family secrets that are finally revealed.
Some parts of the book didn't work as well for me. The ending was a little over the top. A sort of been there, done that kind of thing.
I put this in the romantic suspense genre, but it's really more of a suspense novel without much romance. The last chapter hints at romance and that's about it as far at that goes. So, if you are looking hot romance, it's not in this book. But, if you want a fairly solid, pretty creepy at times, mystery, suspense novel, you will probably find this one enjoyable.
Over all this one gets B/B- ( )

All The Way Home
by
Wendi Corsi Staub

My "in a nutshell" summary...

Four young girls disappear...some from their very own beds...the crime is never solved.

My thoughts after reading this book...

Mysterious and thought provoking from the start...this is one of those books that will make a car trip or a plane trip or sitting out by the pool or on the beach fly by. I could not stop reading because I had to know what happened and what was still happening. The appearance of the mysterious stranger at the wrought iron gates...pierced my soul! Who is he? Who is she?

Ok...way too many mysteries in this book make it even more appealing. Rory hasn't been home in years...mostly to avoid the nightmare that began hen her older sister disappeared. But now that she is back...things are worse than ever. Mysterious strangers, more lies, and more disappearances begin to occur. I had no clue as to who what or where all the evil was coming from...I was freaked out by the kitten disappearing! And then when people began following suit...I could not stop reading!

What I loved about this book...

I read it last night, I read it this morning, I read it on the deck, and I finally finished it inside in our sunroom. I was not capable of putting this book down or saving it for later. It's not fun at all...it's nail biting terror. I was even capable of believing that nuns were evil in this book. I convinced myself that I totally knew who the murderer was...only to be shocked by this dramatic conclusion!

What I did not love about this book...

Hmmm...I can't even think of anything.

Final thoughts...

I haven't read books by this author in a while and I had forgotten her magic with a mystery. This one was tense, complicated and extremely satisfying...it's the perfect summer mystery! ( )

In starting this book, the thing seems so familiar...I have a feeling I got another double book...that is to say, bought a book I had previously bought and read. This is where this site will come in handy...I've literally read hundreds of books I can't begin to remember. Sucks that I prefer to buy than check out from the library, but serves me right for cutting out the middle man I guess.Will keep reading to reaquaint myself with the story. If I remeber correctly I liked all right the first time around, it'd be interesting to see what my impression is now.I did read this before, and I finished it again. It was alright for its genre, I'd probably read more of her books, in fact have in the past. ( )