Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
 Flies off the pages... October 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this novel. A fascinating concept - that a teenage girl wakes up one morning to find her entire family has gone. Just disappeared without a trace...And then she has to wait 25 years and to the making of a documentary about her life to find out the truth.
Fast paced, with excellent three-dimensional characters, I raced through this book in no time - it is truly unputdownable! I've heard a lot said that it's 'far-fetched' and has 'unecessary twists' and though this may be true, it is still great story-telling. I do feel that it's believable enough to hold your interest and the outcome, though given away a little easily, is worth the wait.
Highly recommended...
No time to do anything except making time to read this book! September 30, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Fans of Harlen Coben will love this book. Its very entertaining and will not disappoint. It has everything especially the one thing i always look for and thats humour. Like Coben its very family orientated and children/parents relationships are very important.
 Nice start, shame about the end September 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great start to the story, draws you in, leads to great expectations...then lets you down with a very predictable and disappointing ending ..which you think .. this can't be! The characters are initially good but are increasingly unbelievable and dissolve into what seems to be the author trying to tie everything up to the conclusion rather than coming up with an exciting ending. Pity it wasn't a better ending, which would have led to a 5 star book.
Great book...BUT.. September 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book throughout: great pace, characterization dealt with deftly (mostly through dialogue and interaction, which gave you a feel for them beyond background and description), lots of twists and changes and nail-biting moments... and a GREAT central thread. You just have to know why a whole family has disappeared. However....
**PLOT SPOILER** The plot jumps forward twenty-five years from that fateful day and a private investigator is called in some months down the line. Within forty-eight hours he's discovered that there's no social security or tax records for the girl's father. Now, the thing is many PI's are retired or ex-policemen. These would have been the first two things the police would have checked (and discovered) twenty-five years back. I think this is a major faux pas (or 'fox pass' as it's termed in the book) that LB should have picked up on.
Possibly it's just me from dealing regularly with the police and court systems for my work, or having read more Coben, Grisham, Lehane and Pelecanos than is perhaps healthy. But if you want to drop me a line before penning your next one, LB, I can make sure you don't make a similar foot fault.
But, apart from that, as I say, very, very good (would have been a decided 5 stars apart from that). Harlan has got some serious competition for once.
 Keeps you transfixed September 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I can see from the range of reviews for this book that it doesn't score highly with those seeking a literary masterpiece, but does with those who enjoy a fast paced thriller. I enjoy both sorts of books, but I suppose it also depends on how you define a literary masterpeice. In my eyes, this is almost it- fast paced, likable main characters and a plot full of twists and turns to the very end.
Plot has been covered by other reviewers, but I have to say that I found the method of using Cynthia's husband to be a good one. This offered an insight into events which was perhaps more interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly and was sad to finally finish it, although on the other hand, I couldn't put it down. I am very much looking forward to the author's next novel.
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