Review by Krista McKeeth
“A compelling family mystery that kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended.”—Margaret Maron, New York Times bestselling author of Three Day Town
“Dear Tommie: Have you ever wondered about who you are?”
The letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter—and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago.
Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana. Tommie races along a twisting, nightmarish path while an unseen stalker is determined to keep old secrets locked inside the dementia-battered brain of the woman who Tommie always thought was her real mother. With everything she has ever believed in question, and no one she can trust, Tommie must discover the truth about the girl who vanished—and the very real threats that still remain.
“[Julia Heaberlin’s] voice is pitch perfect, and her story of one woman’s fierce struggle to reconcile her past with her present is gripping and powerful. An outstanding debut.”—Carla Buckley, author of Invisible
Paperback, 352 pages
Published May 29th 2012 by Ballantine Books
Tommie is educated, smart and dealing with a lot of family grief already. Her father just died, her mother is in a home and she is managing their land, making decisions for it’s future. Then she gets an unexplained letter. A man claiming to be a reporter shows up on her doorstep and asks a lot more questions than he gives answers. But for some reason Tommie is drawn to him, hoping he can help her find her answers.
Secret bank deposit boxes, long lost letters from the past and men chasing after her with guns. Tommie is witty, knows how to shoot a gun and intuitive about reading people. She not only gets caught up trying to decipher why it was her that the letter was sent to, but after visiting who they claimed was her father at her local prison, things start to get pretty scary fast. She has to be one step ahead of the men searching for her. And when a woman from the prison starts calling her with threats and clues, Tommie wonders what she has gotten herself into.
Out of interest, I also decided to check out the audio-book version narrated by Madeleine Lambert from my local library. I became very engrossed in the story and loved the southern accent that was used to portray our main character.
Even with an ending that I felt was a little lacklustre, I sure enjoyed this ride. The trail of clues that Tommie has to follow leads us on a very fun and entertaining adventure. Constant revelations and clever weaving of this plot lead to a very fun read, or should I say listen!
