Sunday, October 14, 2012

The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon




***I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way affects how I review this book.***





Goodreads Summary:

Bestselling author Jennifer McMahon is back with a gut-wrenching mystery about an architect whose troubled mother has been found 25 years after being kidnapped-by a killer who is still on the loose.

"One of the brightest new stars of literary suspense."
-Los Angeles Times

The summer of 1985 changed Reggie's life. Thirteen, awkward, and without a father, she finds herself mixed up with her school's outcasts-Charlie, the local detective's son, and Tara, a goth kid who has a mental hold over Reggie and harbors a dark secret. That same summer a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother Vera-an ex-model with many "boyfriends" and a thirst for gin-the most, Vera's hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there's no body and Neptune disappears.

Now a successful architect who left her hometown behind after that horrific summer, Reggie doesn't trust anyone and lives with few attachments. But when she gets a call from a homeless shelter saying that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.

With her signature style, Jennifer McMahon portrays the dark side of adolescent friendship and introduces characters who haunt the imagination, along with a disturbing web of secrets, betrayals, and murder.

My Thoughts:

I am not normally big on mystery novels. I have been reading a lot lately so I am starting to get a feel for the genre. I would say this is the best one I have read yet. I wouldn't say I couldn't put it down, but it was pretty close to that. I felt the character development was awesome. I really got to know and understand Reggie through the flashback chapters and present day chapters. At first I liked that every other chapter was either flashback or present day, but about 3/4 of the way in it started to grate on me a little. This is likely because I wanted to hurry up and find out who Neptune was!


****SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT ***********


Throughout the read I kept guessing and was wrong each time who the killer was. Obviously that is the point of mysteries, who done it? I never saw the twist of George being both Reggie's Bio-Dad and Neptune. Looking back on the book I can see all the signs that pointed to George but when I was think in the reading I didn't see it coming. George played the Daddy role for Reggie her whole life, but she never suspected so I never suspected him either.

I found the relationship between Reggie and Tara really hard to take; only because Tara reminded me so much of too many girls I hung out with in high school. Tara the cutter, Tara the dark and gothic, it was all unfortunately familiar to me. Tara eventually got her shit together which is a nice part of this story. I did find it a little too convenient that she was taken by Neptune as his newest/ last victim. I understand why the author chose this path, but it was really the only part that I didn't like. Tara ha already been through enough as a character so I didn't like seeing her further punished by losing a hand.

I would recommend this book to fans of mystery. I think if you don't like mystery very much you should stay away from this one, the flipping between time tables might bother the average non mystery reader.

While writing this review I was listening to my dog snore and the pond bubble outside my back door. Can I just say I am super swell excited that Fall has finally come to Utah?!?


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