Author: Gilly Macmillan
In a heartbeat, everything changes…
Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.
Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.
As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.
Where is Ben? The clock is ticking...-Goodreads
Review: If you are looking for a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this book will be a disappointment. It is slow and there is little action. However, if you are looking for a book that dives into the psyche of people whose kids go missing, how policemen deal with their involvement in the case and how viscous the court of public opinion can be, you might enjoy this. I happened to be reading this while the Ohio zoo incident occurred (young child climbed into gorilla exhibit and the gorilla was shot). My facebook feed was half 'it's the mother's fault for not watching her kid, she should be prosecuted' to 'it was an accident.' It really paralleled this book on many levels. Now, there were characters that could have been eliminated entirely (one of Rachel's friends for instance) but overall, I really enjoyed this.
Grade: 4/5
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