February 2016

I have been a fan of Heather Gudenkauf’s writing since THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE was published in 2009. So when I saw MISSING PIECES, I immediately grabbed it, knowing that Gudenkauf creates a well-paced thriller that always engages me. She did not disappoint.

In MISSING PIECES, Sarah Quinlan is headed to her husband Jack’s family home in Iowa as his Aunt Julia has taken a fall and is in critical condition. It’s the least Jack can do as his aunt and uncle took him and his sister in and raised them as their own children, following the death of their mother when Jack was just 15. He had come home from school one day to find his mother dead at the bottom of the cellar stairs, with his father gone from the house. Of course, his dad was the key suspect in the crime.

Jack has fabricated his history, so going back to his hometown is not easy. There are a lot of secrets in that town, and it’s time for them to be unwrapped. Sarah is a journalist and employs all of her skills to try to unravel what really went down decades ago. As this happens, she starts doubting Jack and their life together.

Everyone is looking over his or her shoulder as the pages turn, with Gudenkauf doing a brilliant job of keeping her readers guessing as to what actually happened….and what’s going on now. Plan to lose yourself for an afternoon reading it!