by Romy Hausmann
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: A windowless shack in the woods. A dash to safety. But when a woman finally escapes her captor, the end of the story is only the beginning of her nightmare.
She says her name is Lena. Lena, who disappeared without a trace 14 years prior. She fits the profile. She has the distinctive scar. But her family swears that she isn’t their Lena.
The little girl who escaped the woods with her knows things she isn’t sharing, and Lena’s devastated father is trying to piece together details that don’t quite fit. Lena is desperate to begin again, but something tells her that her tormentor still wants to get back what belongs to him…and that she may not be able to truly escape until the whole truth about what happened in the woods finally emerges.
Kritters Thoughts: A woman and two kids in captivity, finally break free, but that is where the mystery begins. Who held them captive? What are their true identities? Will they ever heal from the abuse?
Told through three main points of view, a woman who calls herself Lena who was hit by a car while running away, a child named Hannah who came from the captive home and Matthias Beck, who is the father of the woman who disappeared 13 years ago as he tries to put all the puzzle pieces together and never gave up the hope of finding his daughter.
I always judge a mystery by the final culprit. Of course, I will not divulge where this book landed, but I will say that after reading this book and processing it for awhile, I am still unsure as to how I feel about who dun it! They didn't come out of left field completely, but I wish they had been a little more involved throughout the book. I liked how the story came together in the end, it was interesting to see it conclude, but wish the middle had a bit more.
With hints of the book Room by Emma Donaghue, I would urge readers to know going in that there is a lot of disturbing scenes and if you are faint of heart when it comes to child abuse, then this may not be the book for you. Seeing the story through a child's eye gave the story so much depth, but with that came extra heartache.
Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more
Ebook 2020 Challenge: 98 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Flatiron Books. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Room kept me traumatised for weeks so I think I will give this book a miss.
ReplyDelete