My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The crime being investigated in this book is a kidnapping, a refreshing change from the usual serial murderer. Mia is the daughter of a wealthy judge; she’s kidnapped by Colin, a ne’er-do-well from the underclass. The story is told primarily by three voices – Mia’s mother, the detective investigating the case, and Colin. The scenes switch back and forth from “Before” and “After”. During the “After” scenes we learn that Mia is back home with her mother months later, but is suffering from a memory loss, so we don’t know what happened between those two nebulous time frames. Some people may find the changing voices and times disturbing or confusing, but I had no trouble following the storyline.
The author writes well and I found the characters credible. I’ve always liked seeing the same story told from multiple points of view, but that’s not exactly what happens here. The three characters are each telling different stories, i.e. what they did or what happened to them during the months. The ending has a twist to it that I didn’t anticipate, but I can’t say that contributed much. What makes the book interesting is the way the characters develop.
As a former FBI agent I know something about how kidnappings are investigated, although this begins as a missing person case, not a kidnapping. I found the police procedure part to be relatively believable and well-done, better than most such books by non-law enforcement writers.