This book captured my attention on the town library shelf of new books because of the art work.
At first I wasn't going to take it out because I initially thought, just from the cover, that it might be one of those vampire or spiritually dark pop culture books that seem to be all the rage in this country and in my opinion those are just so badly done in both content and reading style. Not to mention what it can do to one's spiritual or emotional life. So I turned it over to read the back cover and found that it was a story I would be VERY interested in due to past work and experiences.
Tom and Abby Stuart have a great marriage, a pretty 12 year old daughter named Caitlyn and successful careers. However, one day while walking the family dog in the local park, Caitlyn disappears. There is absolutely no trace of her. Tom and Abby grasp at every clue, every false hope, every false lead.
This tragedy ends up changing their lives. It overwhelms them with guilt, dread and it begins to unravel their marriage.
But then four years later, Caitlyn shows up at the local police station! She's alive after they thought she was dead. She's found dirty and unkempt but she is calm. In fact, she refuses to talk about where she's been, who took her, what happened. The police make sure she is taken to the hospital for a complete physical exam where they discover what every parent does not want to experience. She has been a victim of sexual abuse.
But there is no substantive evidence and Caitlyn refuses to discuss the last 4 years.
The police have one suspect that they arrest but Caitlyn refuses to cooperate so the Stuarts have only one choice. To take matters into their own hands or let the man who is responsible for their daughter's disappearance walk away.
When Tom decides to uncover the truth, he learns that nothing has happened thus far that can prepare him for what he is about to discover. Sometimes the truth comes with a price!
MY THOUGHTS
Well, this was a good plot, in a way, but in other ways, it was just too "dark" for me. And a bit unrealistic, although I think the author did do a good job in describing the dad's feelings and thoughts regarding his daughter and the kidnapping/abuse. I know that many young victims will come to feel that they "love" their perpetrator especially if long-term abuse is going on. And that was the main thrust of this story.
The author did a great job, in my opinion, with character development. I could relate to the dad and the victim but the mom in the story really bugged me. She was too "hands off" in her marriage and I just didn't care for that and I definitely didn't like that the author put the pastor of the church in a bad light....I get WHY he did it but I don't like it.
The overall plot though is just too unrealistic for me given that this problem of kidnapping and child abuse is too real in our country. The unrealistic parts is that she just walked away after FOUR YEARS of being held. I did like that the author showed the strain on a marriage...I've known that to happen when there is tragedy in a family. The other unrealistic part is that most dads would NOT go and meet the perpetrator without the involvement of the police. I know that my husband would want to do exactly what this dad did, but realistically most men or women would not act on those feelings. They would involve the law.
Overall, the story was ok. I was going to stop reading it, but I did want to see where the plot was going to take Caitlyn. It ended the way I predicted, which is good....but....sad.....overall. Just too dark of a book. It's hard to explain.
In my opinion this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 5.
1 comment:
Doesn't sound like one I would particularly get into. I have a hard time reading about stuff like that.
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