Where They Found Her - Kimberly McCreight

First line: "It isn't until afterward that I think about the bag or the bloody towels stuffed inside."

Kimberly McCreight follows up her outstanding debut with a suspense novel of equal weight and mystery. Where They Found Her is the story of a dead newborn and the small college town dealing with the trauma of her discovery as the police work to uncover the parents' identities.

Molly Sanderson is a young mother recovering from the severe depression she experienced after the miscarriage of her second daughter. She and her husband Justin have recently moved to Ridgedale in order for Justin to take a teaching job at the local university. Molly is working as the arts editor for the small local newspaper, but a perfect storm of events leaves her as the only staff member who can cover a breaking news story--a dead body discovered down by the river. It isn't until Molly arrives that she learns the victim is a newborn baby girl.

Sandy Mendelson should be in high school, but she's too busy taking care of her drug-addled mother, Jenna, and besides, they never stay in one place long enough for Sandy to accomplish anything. But Sandy is secretly trying to get her GED through a local program. That is until her mother disappears and a strange man shows up at their apartment door with an eviction notice.

Barbara Carlson is married to the chief of police and gives new meaning to the phrase "helicopter parent." Her daughter Hannah is a successful high school student and her son Cole is in kindergarten. When Barbara starts receiving reports that Cole is acting out she freaks. Certainly he saw or heard something he shouldn't at the home of his little friend, the one with the terrible mother. Things truly escalate when Barbara finds Cole drawing a picture of a person with no arms and blood everywhere.

The lives of these three women begin to intertwine as the murder case seeps into Ridgedale. Where They Found Her oscillates between each of their points of view, slowly drawing lives together like multiple puzzles whose pieces are joined to create a completely new picture. And as the case unravels, the ties that bind these women become tighter and tighter, and each comes out a completely different person.

Where They Found Her is gritty and dark. It's also hopeful and inspiring. McCreight is adept at juggling several seemingly unrelated mysteries and then uniting them at the conclusion. No part is inconsequential in her master plan.

The alternating points of view builds suspense and makes this a difficult book to put down. Each perspective is incomplete so the readers have to put the various clues together and try to identify the red herrings McCreight throws in as well. Her plot building is artful, but it's her characters that will truly engage readers with this novel.

The idea of the strong female character is both challenged and illustrated throughout the novel, but in non-traditional ways. They aren't out solving the crimes in four-inch stilettos, instead they're recovering from depression, working on a GED, and trying to be the best mother possible. They are people readers can identify with and empathize with. That connection makes the suspenseful plot exponentially more engaging.

Where They Found Her packs a powerful punch and leaves a lasting impression.

Where They Found Her is available in hardcover from Harper (9780062225467) and as an unabridged audio (9781481534710), narrated by Tavia Gilbert, Lauren Fortgang, Rachel F. Hirsch and Therese Plummer, from Harper and Blackstone Audio.


       

My review today is the last stop of the TLC book tour for Where They Found Her. Check the schedule to see what other bloggers are saying about Kimberly McCreight's sophomore novel. You can also connect with Kimberly on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I do some contractual work for one of the owners of TLC Blog Tours. My work with them does not obligate me to a specific kind of review. The reviews are still my own opinions and reflect only my thoughts on the novels. If you care to read more, you can find more information on my Disclosure page.

Reconstructing Amelia - Kimberly McCreight

My review of the audiobook of Reconstruction Amelia was originally written for Shelf Awareness but was unable to run. However, it's definitely able to appear here. Hope you enjoy!

First line: "Because there are 176 definitions for the word loser on urbandictionary.com."

Kate Baron is in the middle of a high-powered meeting for her law firm when she receives a call that her daughter Amelia has been suspended from her private prep school for cheating. Kate needs to come and pick up Amelia immediately.

Certainly there must be a mistake as Amelia is a perfect student; she’d never cheat. But when Kate arrives at the school, she never has a chance to ask. Amelia is dead and the police believe she jumped from the school’s roof, committing suicide. Kate almost comes to terms with the suicide when she receives an anonymous text message, “Amelia didn’t jump.”

In her debut novel, Kimberly McCreight aims high by exploring the volatility of teenage relationships. As the book’s narrator, Khristine Hvam is tasked with expressing every emotion of the young female spectrum. From the cocky, self-assured, and extremely overindulged Zadie to the book’s title character, smart, athletic, play-by-rules Amelia, Hvam keys into the teen psyche as though she’s still in high school herself.

Interspersed between the chapters from Amelia’s perspective, McCreight offers the perspective of Kate. Changing gears, Hvam climbs into the role of desperate, grieving mother, allowing listeners to intimately experience every parent’s worst nightmare.

Hvam never loses sight of the intensity of the plot. Carefully balancing the roles of mother and daughter, Hvam convinces her audience that smart girls can make stupid choices, while she jolts listeners with the horrors teens are capable of inflicting on one another.

Heart-breakingly disturbing, this audiobook’s haunting narration will echo long past “the end.”

Reconstructing Amelia is available as an unabridged audio from Harper Audio (ISBN: 9780062237590) and in hardcover (ISBN: 9780062225436) from Harper.

Crime Critters Caught Reading Crime - Double-Bogey Duffer Burke Simpson

While I haven't had a chance to meet this little guy in person yet, I already know that I adore "Double." His mamma shares stories about his ups, downs and sometimes side ways, which are always a treat. Of course you know his mamma is Alafair Burke.

I'm especially fond of Double's reading choice today. I listened to Reconstructing Amelia on audio and you'll get to hear about it later, but Double spends his time reading while Mommy writes. After all, what else is there to do? Mommy hasn't been especially receptive to Double's plot ideas. What's wrong with a race around the park followed by squeaky toy keep away? That's exciting isn't it? Double also says, "Reconstructing Amelia is great, but why doesn't anyone have a dog?"

As for me, I'm thankful that Double occupies his time reading and allows his mommy to write. Alafair has a new book coming out next month and I CAN. NOT. WAIT. If You Were Here will hit bookstores on June 4th! And of course you'll hear about that one from me as well! Alafair has a pretty nifty pre-order contest going on now if you're interested in checking that out.

I'm sad that I won't be able to attend any of Alafair's tour events for this book, but if you can go and say "hi" for me, I'd love it...and you'll love the event, promise!

As a little side note, I just have to mention that Alafair is part of the reason I wanted to start this book blog. I didn't know her at the time, but I was reading her books and I wanted to tell others about them. As long as this blog has existed I've been reading Alafair Burke crime novels; she only gets better and better with each one. 

Thanks to Alafair and Double for playing along this month!

Today's pet tip is about sunscreen: Though all that fur helps protect her, your pet can get sunburned, particularly if she has light skin and hair. Sunburn in animals can cause problems similar to those it can cause in people, including pain, peeling, and skin cancer. So keep your pet out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and when you do go out, rub a bit of sunblock on unprotected areas like the tips of her ears, the skin around her lips, and the tip of her nose.