Anna Hart is a detective who has returned to Mendocino, CA after a family tragedy. She had grown up there with her foster parents. Soon after she arrives back in town, a young girl is reported missing. It brings back memories of the unsolved murder of a childhood friend of Anna’s. One of her other childhood friends, Will, is now the sheriff and he enlists Anna’s help in trying to solve this case.
The kidnapping takes place in 1993 and brings in the real-life abduction of Polly Klaas. The story flip-flops between 1993, Anna’s early childhood before living with her foster parents and also her time with her foster parents and what her foster father taught her about hiking in the woods.
Will and Anna had to utilize good, old-fashioned detective skills…this was before the advanced forensics currently utilized. It was a slow burn to start but overall a good read; however, it is a difficult topic – the abduction and assault of children. ( )

Crime

Heavy Read but Good


This story expresses the point of view of Anna Hart who is a seasoned missing person detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

The crime is scarily similar to a crime that occurred during a pivotal time in Anna’s childhood. The unsolved murder of a young girl touched the town and changed the people who lived there forever. When past and present collide, Anna realizes she was brought back to her hometown for a reason and that her upbringing and life experience gives her insight into how the victims are selected and how they come in contact with this killer. As Anna becomes consumed with the history and needs to save these girls, she must come to terms with the fact that to help others she might need to help herself by letting others in.



Intertwining together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propelling and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives and come to terms with the fact that we are not meant to live life alone.

What I enjoyed with this novel is that when it begins we are immediately caught up in whatever Anna is running from. You can feel that she is running from love and heartbreak and all this information is given to the reader in little pieces. I enjoyed meeting characters from her past and her time in the system and how the author used that as a way to connect her to the victims she is trying to save. What was also well done was the cast of supporting characters in the town. What I love most and why this is such a high-rated four- star read for me is the fact that the author blends Anna’s past and present so beautifully that by the end of the book I feel like the character comes out as a whole person. The transition is beautiful and shows how having community and faith in yourself is important to make an impact in helping others.

I enjoyed this book very much. I found myself engaged and drawn into the well developed characters immediately. While it is filled with sadness and tragic lives, it also offers hope and redemption. The ending was a bit of a surprise, but closed up the story nicely. The backstory of Cameron's young life added another dimension. ( )

Oh my gosh, this book is now on my list of highly recommended reading for anyone who has gone through trauma in their life (and for those who haven't, it's still a fabulous book!)
The author does a great job of fleshing out each character, her words descriptive, emotional, haunting. And the story doesn't take the easy way out in "solving" plot situations.
I felt like I was there alongside Anna (a missing person's detective) as she walks through the woods, along the beach cliffs, into a home where she isn't welcomed. The story digs deep into what molds us, how our childhood and past coat layers of how we will view life, what decisions we will make, who we will trust, and how we view ourselves. I highly recommend this story and thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this well-told story. ( )