Release Day Review: Somebody's Daughter by David Bell

Pub. Date: July 10th, 2018
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 432

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Mystery / Thriller / Family Drama

Synopsis

In the pulse-racing new suspense novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Bring Her Home and Since She Went Away, the life of a little girl rests in the hands of the father who never even knew she existed...


When Michael Frazier's ex-wife, Erica, shows up on his doorstep pleading for help, she drops a bombshell that threatens to rip his family apart: Erica's nine-year-old daughter is missing--and Michael is the father. Unable to quickly determine if Erica is telling the truth, and unwilling to leave the little girl's fate to chance, Michael has no choice but to follow the elusive trail of the child he has always wanted and never knew he had.

But finding Felicity comes at a price--the closer Michael gets to the truth, the further into jeopardy his marriage falls and the faster his family begins to unravel. As lies that span a decade bubble to the surface and the window for Felicity's safe return closes, Michael will have just a few short days to decide who can be trusted and who is hiding the truth.

What Did I Think About the Story?

While I have a number of David Bell books on my shelves, Somebody's Daughter is, in fact, the first I've read. The synopsis makes it sound so mysterious - is Felicity Michael's daughter? Where is the girl? Why did her mother never tell Michael about her before she disappeared? - that I jumped in and entered the Goodreads giveaway for an advanced reader copy. Lo and behold I won! The story ended up being quite an interesting and twisty mystery, even though there were some aspects of it that kept me from loving the book overall.

The book is divided up into short chapters that alternate between the POV's of Michael, his wife, Angela, and one of the detectives on the case, Detective Griffin. I did very much enjoy the short chapters as they made for easy stopping places and always seemed to leave off with a little cliffhanger that made you want to keep reading. With this being said, while both Michael and Angela's chapters flowed well and felt essential to the storyline, I wasn't as captivated by Griffin's chapters. She has her own current issues that, while they make her sympathetic to what the characters are experiencing, felt, to me, like extra storyline that could have been left out of what I felt was an already too long book. So much extraneous detail and so many characters were involved that I just kept thinking that this would have been more thrilling to me if it was edited down a bit.

I don't want it to sound like I didn't enjoy the story at all, because I really did. There were a lot of delicious twists along our way to discovering where Felicity was, who had taken her, and whether or not Michael was actually her father. I, for one, was completely surprised when the characters found Felicity and discovered not only who took her but why she was taken. I always love when a book can surprise me and this one definitely did! I also really liked that the story was nicely wrapped up in the end, with all the answers I had remaining answered and a nice little hint at what the characters could look forward to in the future.

Somebody's Daughter, while not a page-turning thrill-fest for me, was a well thought out, twisting mystery that I enjoyed getting to the eventual bottom of.  I liked the ending and, by the last page, enjoyed my overall time spent with the characters. I'm still very much looking forward to my other David Bell books and am curious to see how they stack up to this one. 

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I think it's very cool. I'm not positive who the woman is, but I love how we're seeing her through a sort of kaleidoscope, giving you a sinister sort of feeling of confusion and mystery. It's a great cover for a story such as this!


My Rating: 3.0/5.0

I received an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Somebody's Daughter from Goodreads and Berkley Books. All opinions are mine alone. For more information about the book, including other reviews and links to where you can purchase a copy, see Goodreads HERE.

 

 

  

Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Publisher: Berkley
Pub. Date: May 3rd, 2016
Pages: 384

Genres: Crime Procedural / Suspense / Thriller / Mystery

Synopsis 

On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . .


I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.

At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them. 

What Did I Think About the Story?

I Let You Go starts with a horrible accident - a young boy dying on a rainy street after being hit by a car -  and then alternates chapters with Jenna Gray trying to recover from this horrible event and Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and his team trying to solve the mystery of who was driving the car and why they didn't stop to help the boy or come forward after the crash. After the initial shocking accident I have to admit that I began to wonder where all the "thrill" and "suspense" was hiding as it started shaping up into quite the sedate story of a mother trying to rebuild her life and an Inspector trying to keep his own family, as well as his growing affection for a colleague, in check. Then - BAM! - out of nowhere a twist is revealed, one that made me realize I had been reading the story all wrong and had been completely tricked! This doesn't happen too often in novels so I always get a little thrill when it does. The last time I can remember feeling this thrown by a twist was in Gone Girl, so the comparisons to that novel, in this case, seem appropriate.

Beyond this big twist, I really enjoyed the in-depth behind the scenes look at police procedures and the bureaucracy behind them. I've never been much for TV police procedurals but I enjoyed this written peek and it made me really appreciate the minute attention to details needed as well as the slow moving speed of following up on those details involved. With all the red tape involved against the flash-quick nature of violence it's amazing any crime can be solved with enough time to save anyone (just a little hint of what you'll find after the "big twist").

All in all, I found I Let You Go to be an exciting read once the action picks up about half way through. I was much more interested in Jenna's story and the shocking twists involved with it then the family drama associated with Inspector Stevens.  Still, I think it was a great mystery full of surprises and  is perfect for those that crave shocking revelations.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I like it, even though it's quite simplistic. You won't know it until reading the story, but the writing in the sand does play a part, a part that helps move along the mystery and action. The darker, muted colors also represent for me the darker, dreary feel of the story. 

My Rating: 4.0/5.0 

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for a free copy of I Let You Go in exchange for an honest review.  You can find more reviews and links to where you can purchase a copy of the book on Goodreads.