Bring Her Home by David Bell
If you've been following my blog for the past couple of years, you know I discovered David Bell around the time of my thirty-ninth birthday. I've read all of his books in that time. A few months ago, I saw that he had a new book coming out this July, so I pre-ordered it. Then, a month or so ago, I checked an email from First to Read, an advanced reader service from Penguin Publishers. I check these emails whenever I get them, but they seldom have anything that I want to read and if they do, I am never chosen for it. Until this book. A few weeks ago, I received the email that I was chosen to get an advanced reader copy of this. The only drawback, as I saw it, is that it was an ebook, and not a paperback like all of my other copies of Bell's books. I am so glad I got to read this before it came out to the general public; it made me feel pretty special.
As with Bell's previous works, this is a book of suspense, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat in the very best way possible. Even with the wonky format on my Kindle that made reading this troublesome sometimes, I didn't want to put this down to go to sleep or be a productive member of society.
When the book starts out, Bill has just arrived at the hospital. His fifteen year old daughter, Summer, had been missing, and it seems she has been found. She went missing with her friend, Haley, and someone called in an anonymous tip that allowed the girls to be found. Both girls had been beaten severely: one within an inch of her life, and one who died of her injuries. When she got moved to the ICU, Bill sat with his daughter, hoping she would heal. Having lost his wife a year and a half prior, Summer meant even more to him.
Bill's sister, Paige, came to offer support, and after some of Summer's unconscious actions drew her attention, she questioned if the girl they'd been standing vigil over was actually Summer. As it turns out, it wasn't; it was her best friend, Haley. This only left the dead girl, which everyone had thought was Haley. As Bill is trying to process the death of his daughter and makes arrangements for her burial, he receives the call that this girl is not his daughter either. So, where is Summer?
Bill follows every lead, almost getting himself into trouble with law enforcement himself. He believes that some of Summer's male friends may be involved, and everyone seems to be a suspect, even himself at one point. He learns who he can trust and who he can't.
Like everything I have read of Bell's, this book makes you think. I found myself second guessing myself the whole time in who I thought was the guilty party, which is part of the fun of reading this type of book for me. Bell makes you feel what the characters feel, and he writes so that you can envision what's going on clearly. No detail is left out, but it's not tedious like many books with a lot of detail can be.
If it wasn't obvious from this post, I will continue reading Bell's books. They are something I find myself looking forward to every summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment