The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea

[I’m trying to get back on a regular reading schedule amid doctor’s appointments and other life complications. Thank you for being patient with me as I play catch up with reading your posts and posting reviews. You guys are the best!! 😊]

Charlie Donlea sets the bar incredibly high for suspense novels. His books are compulsively readable. They are automatic buys for me, and I’ve read all three of his releases. His writing style is uniquely appealing, and I connect with it immediately. From the first few pages a mental picture develops and evolves into a vivid story that’s so engrossing that I’m completely immersed until the last page.

Phew! Now that I’ve finished gushing about Donlea’s writing skills, here’s a look at The Girl Who Was Taken….

Two girls go missing one night from the same beach party. One girl, Megan McDonald, escapes her abductor and returns home. The other girl, Nicole Cutty, is still missing. The book opens about a year after the girls were taken. Livia Cutty, Nicole’s older sister, has not given up looking for her. She’s a fellow in forensic pathology and is hopeful that she will find her sister and put an end to the mystery of what happened to her. As Livia intensifies her investigation into Nicole’s life she discovers many bizarre things about her sister and the activities she was involved in—shocking things.

Nicole has been all but forgotten by the general public, whereas Megan is in the spotlight, receiving accolades and recognition from her bestselling book, Missing, about her ordeal. And while Livia can’t help feeling bitter about Megan’s lot, she also couldn’t resist buying and reading Megan’s book, hoping that she would somehow discover clues leading to her sister’s whereabouts. What Livia doesn’t expect is to perform an autopsy on a man who is linked to her sister. What, if any, clues can come about from this discovery?

The Girl Who Was Taken was spectacular!! Seriously, I was on the edge of my seat, especially toward the end when the chapter lengths shortened and the tension amped up. I felt as though I was on an exhilarating joy ride that refused to slow down and release me, and it was wonderful.

I loved the plot development. Intricate details are successively woven throughout the chapters that begin to paint a picture of the lives of the abductees. I was in eager anticipation of the twist I knew would come, and I was not disappointed. And while the book left me with a few questions, it in no way detracted from my overall opinion of it. Excellent read. Highly recommended.

(Warning: There’s some teenage foul language, and detailed forensic descriptions in this book.)

Have you read a book by Charlie Donlea?

Thanks for reading everyone!!

A Sparkle of Silver by Liz Johnson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 – 4.5 stars

Thank you, Baker Publishing Group and Revell Books, for a complimentary paperback copy of A Sparkle of Silver.

And Tantor Audio, for the free audio download.

This pairing made for a perfect book reader experience. ☺️

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Camilla “Millie” Sullivan is heartbroken. She’s being forced to move her beloved grandma Joy from the assisted living facility where she’s being cared for because her memory loss has worsened, necessitating more specialized care. Millie is strapped financially and can hardly afford to take care of herself. She’s out of options and feeling hopeless and dejected until her grandma mutters details about a long-held family secret that might help Millie to get the funds she needs. It involves her great grandmother, Ruth, an opulent Chateau and a diary containing a treasure map that’s hidden somewhere within the Chateau’s walls. Fortunate to get part-time employment at the Chateau, Millie sets about snooping to locate Ruth’s diary. Her efforts are thwarted when security guard, Ben Thornton, catches her and threatens to expose her. Desperate to escape dismissal, Millie recruits Ben to help her, promising to split whatever treasure she finds with him. Ben, carrying his own load and in need of money as much as Millie, agrees to help her. Together, Ben and Millie become a formidable team, uncovering more than a few secrets, and in the process, learning that love is more valuable than money.

In this book we find treasure hunts, thefts, homicide, scandal, romance, and lots of mystery. I enjoyed the dual narrative aspect, taking us from the present and back to 1929, just before the Great Depression when Millie’s great-grandmother, Ruth, and her friend, Jane, both bank tellers, were invited to be summer guests at the Dawkins Chateau on St. Simons Island, GA, by Mr. Dawkins’s “particular friend,” 🙄 Lucille Globe. (Mr. Dawkins’s wife and child were back in Chicago at their permanent residence.) The elusive diary describes Ruth’s activities in and around the Chateau during her visit.

The juxtaposition of high-society socialites and the working class guests mingling at the Chateau was fun to observe—the common folks enamored with the lives of the elite. Ruth was a poor farm girl from Central Georgia. Nineteen at the time, she was a fickle young girl who was confused about where she should direct her affection. I anxiously awaited which way Ruth’s heart would steer her. Would it be towards the lowly, solicitous gardener, George? Or the handsome, debonair, wealthy Claude?

This book is categorized as Christian fiction, but it is not strewn with bible verses or dominated by the author’s own interpretations of scripture, which I appreciated. It was not didactic at all, but simply lacked foul language, violence and immoral activity.

Audiobook: The audio narrator’s sugary sweet southern accent took some getting used to initially, but once I acclimated myself to it I was able to relax and enjoy her performance. She did a very good job with the characters’ voices and her pace was just right.

I loved this story that required me to suspend disbelief; to accept the far-fetched plot and coincidences. I liked the balance of unscrupulous characters and benevolent ones throughout the story, and how the romances within were convincingly developed. Recommended.

Thanks for visiting everyone! Have a beautiful day. 😊