Reviews for The forgotten girl
Publishers Weekly
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Jason Danvers, the hero of this tense, cleverly plotted thriller from Bell (Never Come Back), has relocated with his wife to his hometown of Ednaville, Ohio, where hes making a fresh start after losing a job in New York City. The couple are surprised to receive a visit from Jasons estranged alcoholic sister, Hayden, who appears to be on the wagon. Hayden has some unfinished business to take care of in town, and asks Jason to look after her daughter, a high school junior, while she leaves for 48 hours. Hayden doesnt return, and her disappearance coincides with the resurfacing of a decades-old mystery involving Jasons best friend, Logan Shaw, who went missing in high school. When a link emerges between Logan and Hayden, Jason realizes that family and friends have been hiding deep secrets for years. Bell skillfully throws curveballs into the story line, though veteran mystery fans may anticipate the jaw-dropping finale. Agent: Laney Katz Becker, Lippincott, Massie, McQuilkin Literary Agents. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Dark secrets emerge from a man's long-ago high school days in this strong and moody novel. Jason Danvers is questioned by Ednaville, Ohio, police about his missing friend, Logan Shaw. They'd had a fistfight over Regan Maines on the night of their high school graduation, after which Logan disappeared and hasn't been seen since. Seventeen years later, Jason answers a knock at his door and sees his alcoholic sister, Hayden, for the first time in five years. She drops off her teenage daughter, Sierra, explaining it's only for two days while she deals with unexplained issues. But Hayden doesn't come back. Is she in serious trouble? Jason and his wife, Nora, are happy to care for the bright and mature Sierra, though she steals (well, borrows) and damages their car. The couple stays remarkably levelheaded, given the stresses the author puts on them. Another woman, Rose Holland, also shows up at Jason's door, "looking for that bitch sister of yours.Tell her to stay away from my man." So who is Hayden with? Each chapter quietly builds the mystery and pulls the reader along, despite the lack of hard-core action. Over the years Logan's parents receive letters from him in various parts of the country, so at least they're assured he's all right. But where is he? And where is Hayden? Can there possibly be a connection between the two? Meanwhile, Jason and Nora are decent people with little serious tension between them. The time the childless couple spent with a marriage counselor seems to have paid off, as they try to make an island of stability for Jason's sister and niece. But danger crops up in unexpected ways, and the plot comes full circle. Personal relationships are critical in this satisfying read, which is in the same class as Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
