When Ellie Black, who disappeared two years earlier, is found alive in the woods of Washington State, Detective Chelsey Calhoun, whose own sister went missing when they were teenagers, realizes something is not right with Ellie and it's up to her to find the answers before another girl is taken.
The narrative quickens once the need to backfill diminishes. It twists, turns and deepens as Jean uses the thriller as a vehicle to reflect on the state of women and how they are treated in the workplace, by the people who say they love them and by men ... A decidedly assured debut in the genre.
Well-written, full of convincing characterizations and sharp insights. Ms. Jean’s novel is at its exciting best when forensics and other police techniques are at the fore. Less satisfying perhaps is an unexpected and melodramatic finale that includes and explains all manner of events in a manner undeniably comprehensive yet more than a little hard to credit.
Jean successfully pivots from romantic-relationship fiction... to crime thriller here. She paints a bleak but not entirely depressing picture of abused and underestimated women who manage to survive.
