The quick cut: A teen girl whose mother disappeared when she was two years old finds her life upended when she reappears sixteen years later.
A real review:
When people disappear without a trace, it's natural to wonder where they went. Are they living their best life elsewhere? Or did something far more nefarious happen? When Bel's mom Ashley reappears, a lot of questions come to mind.
Bel's mom is a well known figure due to her disappearance sixteen years ago: car abandoned and still running, with a two year old Bel still in the car. No one knows what happened or why she left her daughter behind. Now, her father has welcomed a documentary crew into their lives so they can pay for a full time caregiver for her grandpa, a recent stroke victim. Will the documentary crew discover new leads? Or just create chaos instead?
This book starts as a slow build and then goes fast pace for the last one hundred pages, with the reveals happening in rapid fire. While that type of pacing would be problematic, it's perfect in this case. The story is a thriller and the roller coaster pacing adds to the discomfort.
Bel has spent most of her life with only her dad to depend on. So many people have come in and out of her life that it's easy to understand why she's hard to trust others. So when her original leaver Ashley comes back, it causes her to trip into a new spiral: the distrust of her reappearance. She refuses to believe her mom until she can verify her story.
My feelings on Ashley went back and forth so many times while reading. Like Bel, I didn't trust her intentions when she first reappeared. Something didn't make sense and her story kept adjusting. By the end, it's clear what her intentions are and why she's back.
The best part about this book is that by the end, all questions are answered. The elements all come together and you're satisfied as a reader with the ending. It's dark, but it's satisfying.
A chilling thriller that will entertain you till the end.
My rating: 5 out of 5