A woman disappears

One moment, Selena Cole is in the playground with her children and the next, she has vanished without a trace.

A woman returns

Twenty hours later, Selena is found safe and well, but with no memory of where she has been.
What took place in those missing hours, and are they linked to the discovery of a nearby murder?

‘Is it a forgetting or a deception?’

MY THOUGHTS:

I was sent this book in exchange for my honest review.

In my opinion, this book should NOT have been written in the 1st-person narrative.  The way the book began was intriguing especially since it was written from a child’s’ perspective at finding her mother gone.

Because of the shift in perspectives, the book seemed scattered and hard to follow. I hated the cops involved. They seemed superficial and whiny, and their thoughts always elsewhere than what realistically should have been on the case.  I get that the author was trying to show that they too had lives and were real people with real issues, but this book was a crime mystery and this part of the story just didn’t fit for me.  It’s a special talent for writers of crime mysteries to make all the characters whole in the story and count, especially those investigating the crime(s), however, this just failed for me.

Selena was the best and most interesting character. There was just something about her that kept you reading and wanting more.  I loved her character development from beginning to end and the ending of the story… wow. I guess this book has a bad part and a good part filled with things I, as a writer, wouldn’t do. However, I can see others liking this book, especially if they like stories told in the 1st-person, family drama and useless filler cops.  I just found myself engaged, not engaged, engaged again, and well you see where it’s going… I’d like it more, if it were written from Selena’s perspective more and most certainly more if it was in 3rd person.

The premise was wonderful and what made me want to read the book. The plot started off great, great hook; and then, blah… Then it picked up, then blah… About halfway, it smoothed out and transitioned well. The voice of the writer is distinct and draws you in, but then seems to drift away, almost like she’s not sure what to write next, then comes up with an idea and writes. I think there’s a bit of filler that could have been left out making the story pace faster which you want in a crime mystery.

Overall, it’s not a bad book, it just wasn’t for me.  I did finish it and found it entertaining, more after the half-way mark.

I gave this book: