Karen Wolff

Being fond of mystery books I found this novel quite fascinating. It held my interest throughout every storyline as officials, survivors, criminals and victims lives intersected and where they ended. It felt like everyone had tunnel vision as they all set their sights on Eli, the town bad boy. For all the decades that the family and officials searched for the two missing girls it seemed they also looked for evidence to link their disappearance with offenses committed by Eli. Even when the bodies of the longtime missing teens were found some still held onto their strong beliefs that Eli was responsible for the girls deaths. An unexpected ending but a good fiction story.… (altro)

I was able to read this ARC for free with the Early Reviewer program from LibraryThing.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read it before the release date, but I still wanted to leave a review. The story was intriguing but, in my opinion, with little suspense. Denise and Paulette disappear on their way to a party and the prime suspect is the town's weird child. It's a good premise and I liked the story in general, but I was left with a few questions at the end.
The story follows the point of view of many characters through many decades and keeps this disappearance present throughout the book. However, were some of the violent parts necessary? I understand that it shows us how humans can be, but I don't feel like some of them add anything to the story.
The end left me a bit frustrated because it didn't have enough information and it felt a bit flat
… (altro)

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by publishers BHC Press, via Library Thing.

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Wolff has made some odd choices in this unsolved-disappearance novel, and readers may be puzzled by some and disappointed by others.

The novel begins with the 1971 disappearance of two high school girls bound for a graduation-week kegger at a local sandpit. The prime suspect is a creepy classmate whose obsession with one of the girls has edged over the line into minor, but still disturbing, violence. Police are unable to make a case against the boy, and his locally prominent family is less than cooperative in the investigation, which is soon shelved.

Years later, when forensic DNA technology manages to convict the young man, Eli, of several other sexual assaults, political pressures lead to the formation of a Cold Case project, and the 1971 disappearance is at the top of the list.

Wolff does a good job overall of showing how surviving families (both of the disappeared and of those suspected in being complicit in the disappearance) are impacted by the unresolved issues. She is perhaps a bit heavy-handed with her portrayal of Eli as she traces his twisted development into a serial sexual abuser – how many times does she have to remind us that he’s an abusive bully? She also paints a broad trail for investigators to follow as they ultimately become aware of his activities and then work to bring him to justice.

Since this is a work of fiction, and not a true-crime or “based on real events” tale, one must wonder why Wolff purposely chose a resolution that will leave many readers scratching their heads and pointing at unresolved plot threads. This is not a “bad” book – though either Wolff or her proofreader needs to learn the difference between “peek” and “peak” – but there are a lot of other “not bad” books out there and this one does little to rise in the ranks.… (altro)

(SPOILERS)
This was probably the least thrilling thriller that I've read. The plot had a lot of potential, but the book did not live up to it. The book felt really unfocused - is it actually about the disappearance of two girls or is it just about Eli (the main suspect/antagonist of the book) and his life in general or about the lives of a number of people in a small SD town? The book goes on a number of short tangents with side characters that never come back again or seem to have any bearing on the plot. Perhaps these were meant to flesh out some of the many side characters, but it didn't work for me.
It was really hard to stomach reading so much about Eli, who spends most of the book harassing, stalking, abusing, and raping women. I'm not sure what the purpose of focusing so much on Eli's life was, other than to make readers assume he must have been responsible for the disappearance.
The conclusion of the book was utterly unsatisfying and honestly a bit confusing. There had been so little focus on the immediate aftermath of the girls' disappearance (what did the boys who were with them have to say? Didn't the police say they'd already dredged the water??) that it was hard to wrap my head around how it correlated to was being said in the trial and then what was ultimately discovers to have happened.
I had really high hopes for this book based on the synopsis and was sorely disappointed. If you're looking for a page-turning, exciting thriller, look elsewhere.… (altro)