Genre: PublicationDate October 11, 2012 Pages: 340 Published By: Smashwords Website Gingerbread Man on Goodreads My review copy: E-book, free on Amazon
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Since the day her baby sister was taken, Holly’s mind hasn’t been the same. PTSD, panic attacks, nightmares and blocked memories have plagued her ever since. And now they’ve returned.
Hard-edged Detective Vince O’Malley’s most recent case penetrated even his protective shell. Ordered to take time off to recover, he can’t let go, and on his own, follows the clues to Holly’s small upstate NY town.
His presence stirs ghosts from the past, shadows of a little girl lost, the suspicions of some tight-lipped locals with secrets to hide, and more than that inside Holly’s fragile mind and untouched heart.
(Goodreads)
What do I say here to you, you guys. This is a book I decided to read for this month strictly on the cover (because heck it looked spooky) and the fact the word haunting was on the cover. Was it the creepy read I was expecting...Absolutely NOT. It wasn't a ghost story or a story of any paranormal thing. No boys and girls this was a thriller/mystery, detective and all. Now I am not going to say that it is the books fault because it is 100% my own. However, I did read it from start to finish and though there were moments my mind wandered, I stuck with it and was interested in seeing how it all ended.
The story was not boring, it did keep me guessing and wondering often. O'Malley the main character is the detective that got too attached to a case that ended badly. When I say badly I mean finding two children in horrible condition deceased. If that doesn't tip you off that the content wont be for everyone and is rather horrible at times, then consider yourself warned now. There is some heavy stuff covered but the author did do a wonderful job of keeping the story on track while making things realistic or at least how I imagine they would be. What I am trying to convey is while this is far from anything I would normally pick up I was okay with the fact I did.
When it comes to O'Malley I guess he seemed like the stereotypical detective that you picture when you hear the word detective. The only real difference is this guy got too attached and ended up almost loosing it. On his "time off" he continues on his case. The thing is his case takes him where nothing ever happens and he is very clearly not welcome. I had to give the guy credit for not giving up but there were moments that he just started to seem like he was becoming a record. He would find the killer, he wouldn't be Holly's hero and then something would happen and he would skip back to square one. He wanted no attachment to anyone but it was obvious the guy formed it easy, so though he was a strong character, he was extremely predictable and I kind of saw where he was headed.
Holly I liked. She was not a pillar of strength and her way of dealing with her traumatic past aren't perfect but they are realistic. Heck her sister was taken right in front of her, who would be completely sane? The thing is that she fights it and does end up working to be strong. She confronts her demons and though the do break her down, she fights them and earns her strength. There were a few times that I wished she would stop the up and down as well. Maybe this was just me but it was had to watch her withdraw after she got better but as I said at least she earned her strength.
I can not persecute this book for my inability to read a synopsis before I start reading. You know don't judge a book by its cover and all that jazz. As far as a book that is well out of any genre or anything that I would pick up goes, this one wasn't bad. I found a lot of things were what I would expect but I will admit that I still did not guess the real killer/perpetrator until roughly three quarters of the way through the book so that has to be something right? Anyway if your thing is detective/thriller/mystery novels then you would be happy with this I believe but please be warned some of the circumstances around the happenings of the children being abducted, well it's heavy. The rating below reflects the fact that even though the book is not my style, it is not horrible and is well written.
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