Review: Bring Her Home by David Bell

Genre:
Suspense, Thriller

Format:
E-ARC

Publisher:
Berkley

Release Date:
July 11, 2017





Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the breathtaking new thriller from David Bell, bestselling author of Since She Went Away and Somebody I Used to Know, the fate of two missing teenage girls becomes a father’s worst nightmare....

Just a year and a half after the tragic death of his wife, Bill Price’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, disappear. Days later, the girls are found in a city park. Haley is dead at the scene, while Summer is left beaten beyond recognition and clinging to life.

As Bill holds vigil over Summer’s bandaged body, the only sound the unconscious girl can make is one cryptic and chilling word: No. And the more time Bill spends with Summer, the more he wonders what happened to her. Or if the injured girl in the hospital bed is really his daughter at all.

When troubling new questions about Summer’s life surface, Bill is not prepared for the aftershocks. He’ll soon discover that both the living and the dead have secrets. And that searching for the truth will tear open old wounds that pierce straight to the heart of his family...

My Review

Bill Price is in the middle of a parent’s worst nightmare.  His teenage daughter, Summer, is missing.  She’s been gone for several days with her best friend, Haley. No one has seen or heard from either girl. Then, Haley is found dead in the park. Summer has been beaten to a pulp and been left for dead. Bill stays by Summer’s side in the hospital, willing her to wake up.

It’s been less than two years since Bill’s wife’s death. During that time, he and his daughter have drifted apart.  He really has no clue what has been going on in her life.  He wonders what Summer could have been involved in.   When the police take too long in catching who did this, he takes matters into his own hands.

The storyline is one of those "ripped right out of a newspaper headline". The characters and plot are realistic - perhaps a bit too realistic for comfort. There were times I thought Bill’s interference with the police would hinder their investigation, but at the same time, I understood his frustration in not knowing what happened to his daughter. Or if she would live or die.

Talk about a page-turner, this novel was that and more. I could not stop reading late into the night. There were more twists and turns than I ever expected. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was completely wrong and totally shocked when I got to the last page.

It’s an extremely fast-paced book that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.  The chapters are short which makes it even easier to keep reading to the end.

I have never read anything by this author before, but I certainly will from now on. I will check out his backlist too. I love discovering “new-to’me” authors.




For reading challenges:
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2017

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.