Book Review: Touch and Go

Touch and Go

I’m not typically a fan of mysteries. I have an extremely active imagination and books with murders and abductions typically freak me out. I’m the kind of girl who pauses the DVR whenever commercials for horror movies air on television. I know there is a lot of evil in the world and I do my best not to spend too much time thinking about it, so when BlogHer listed Touch and Go as one of their February book club selections I wasn’t sure if I should sign up, but I’m so glad I did.

Once I started reading I could not put the book down. In fact, I handed my son off to my husband for two hours, (something I never do), just so I could finish it.

Here is a brief synoposis of the book from the author herself:

An entire family disappeared without a trace, with no witnesses, no motive and no ransom demand. Justin and Libby Denbe have the kind of life that looks good in the pages of a glossy magazine, with their gorgeous brownstone on a tree-lined street, their seemingly perfect marriage and their beautiful fifteen-year old daughter, Ashlyn. But when the entire family disappears without a trace, PI Tessa Leoni must discover their innermost secrets and race against the clock to try and rescue them before their perfect life goes up in smoke.

The story is told from the perspective of two main characters: Tessa Leoni, a private investigator hired to find the abducted family and Libby Denbe, the abducted wife.

To me this story was actually much less about the kidnapping and much more about the trials and tribulations of a family that is falling apart. Libby’s narration alternates between the past and the present. Her marriage is in shambles. Her daughter barely speaks to her and she is struggling with an unhealthy addiction to prescription pain killers.

Every other chapter alternates between Tessa’s investigation and Libby’s abduction. To be honest I didn’t care too much for the chapters involving Tessa. While I know they were necessary to uncover the truth behind the abduction I found little interest in the character of Tessa herself. Every time I read through one of Tessa’s chapters I yearned to return to Libby’s narration of events.

I won’t give away the ending, but I will say it was rather unexpected. I found myself racing through the last few chapters to find out who abducted this family and I was not disappointed by the way the author, Lisa Gardner, tied up all the loose ends.

Note: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

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