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Summary
Summary
"A twisty, jet-fueled thriller... Don't miss it!" - Lisa Gardner
Packed with the electrifying pacing and pulse-pounding suspense of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner, a thrilling debut about a mother desperate to find the connections between her missing husband and a deadly stalker who knows too much about her own dark family history.
Driving home one rainy night, Cassie Larkin sees a man and woman fighting on the side of the road. After calling 911, she makes a split-second decision that will throw her suburban life into chaos. Against the dispatcher's advice, she gets out of her minivan and confronts the attacker. That's when he turns on her and spits out a chilling ultimatum: "Let her die, and I'll let you live."
A veterinarian trained to heal, Cassie can't let the woman die. But while she's examining the unconscious victim, the attacker steals her car. Now he has her name. Her address. And he knows about her children. Though they warn her to be careful, the police assure her that the perpetrator won't get near her. Cassie isn't so sure.
The next day--Halloween--her husband disappears while trick-or-treating with their six-year-old daughter. Are these disturbing events a coincidence or the beginning of a horrifying nightmare? Her husband has been growing distant--is it possible he's become involved with another woman? Is Cassie's confrontation with the road-side attacker connected to her husband's disappearance? With these questions swirling in her mind Cassie can trust no one, maybe not even herself. The only thing she knows for sure is that she can't sit back while the people she loves are in danger.
As she desperately searches for answers, Cassie discovers that nothing is as random as it seems, and that she is more than willing to fight--to go to the most terrifying extremes--to save her family.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
While driving alone one rainy night, veterinarian Cassie Larkin, the narrator of Chavez's propulsive debut set in California wine country, spots a large man menacing a young woman in the road. Cassie stops and calls 911, but against the dispatcher's advice, she gets out of her van and confronts the man, who threatens Cassie before escaping with her car. The next night, which is Halloween, Cassie's husband, Sam, abandons their six-year-old daughter, Audrey, while trick-or-treating and disappears. Det. Ray Rico, who investigates, suspects that either Cassie or her 15-year-old son, Leo, is involved in Sam's disappearance. Chavez peoples her tale with credible, flawed individuals, presenting even the multiple antagonists with harrowing backstories and convincing psychological motives. While readers must suspend disbelief at times (as when Cassie fails to check in with Rico and goes rogue), Chavez is in full command of plot and pacing as the connection between Cassie's roadside confrontation and Sam's disappearance becomes clear. Domestic thriller fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Foundry Literary + Media. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
A good Samaritan incurs a psychopath's wrath in this debut thriller.Veterinarian Cassie Larkin is heading home after a 12-hour shift when someone darts in front of her car, causing her to dump her energy drink. As she pulls over to mop up the mess, her headlights illuminate a couple having a physical altercation. Cassie calls 911, but before help arrives, the man tosses the woman down an embankment. Ignoring the dispatcher's instructions, Cassie exits the vehicle and intervenes, preventing the now-unconscious woman's murder. With sirens wailing in the distance, the man warns Cassie: "Let her die, and I'll let you live." He then scrambles back to the road and flees in Cassie's van. Using mug shots, Cassie identifies the thief and would-be killer as Carver Sweet, who is wanted for poisoning his wife. The Santa Rosa police assure Cassie of her safety, but the next evening, her husband, Sam, vanishes while trick-or-treating with their 6-year-old daughter, Audrey. Hours later, he sends texts apologizing and confessing to an affair, but although it's true that Sam and Cassie have been fighting, she suspects foul playparticularly given the previous night's events. Cassie files a report with the cops, but they dismiss her concerns, leaving Cassie to investigate on her own. After a convoluted start, Chavez embarks on a paranoia-fueled thrill ride, escalating the stakes while exploiting readers' darkest domestic fears. The far-fetched plot lacks cohesion and relies too heavily on coincidence to be fully satisfying, but the reader will be invested in learning the Larkin family's fate through to the too-pat conclusion.Chavez delivers a fraught if flawed page-turner that attempts too many twists. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
In this promising debut--rights have already been sold to six countries--veterinarian Cassie Larkin is driving home on one of those fabled dark and stormy nights when she sees a man assaulting a woman by the roadside and gives chase. The perpetrator circles back to steal her car, her husband disappears the next night while trick-or-treating with their daughter, and Cassie must take control of an upended life. With a 50,000-copy first printing.