Suspense

I picked up this book because I wanted escape reading. It worked for that purpose.

It's a long mystery/thriller that features at its heart the friendship of two boys. The protagonist is Jason Danvers, now in his forties and living in his childhood town with his wife, Nora. Jason works as a graphic designer in a small company. He is approached by a former school mate, a few years older, Colton, now a lawyer. Colton tells him that Jason's high school friend's father is dying. And that friend, Logan Shaw, has been missing since their high school graduation night. Jason remembers the night well, because he and Logan fought over a girl and that was the last he'd seen of him.

But then the complications set in. Jason's sister Hayden shows up with her teenage daughter, Sierra, in tow. Now clean, Hayden has a history of alcohol abuse. She is making amends. She asked Jason and Nora to watch Sierra for two days while she tries to clear up a problem.

And that's where the story hangs. What is Hayden doing? Why does she not return after two days? What's this we hear about her hanging with a "bad boy" from her past? Oh, and Sierra's dad comes into the picture, although he hasn't been for a while.

Jason pursues leads and tracks down one bit of info after another. Often going on instinct, he tries to save Hayden as well as her daughter, possibly from themselves.

To me, the winding around, the questions, the stories, didn't fill in all that much. It was like a lot of spinning without wheels and without real suspense. Then one revelation after another. It got a little old after a while and not all that surprising to me. ( )

This dramatic mystery reveals that our experiences of a person show only pieces of who they are. ( )

This dramatic mystery reveals that our experiences of a person show only pieces of who they are. ( )

This was the first David Bell book I've read and I enjoyed it enough to read more of his books. This one was about a high school graduate who went missing shortly after graduation. Everyone thought he took his money and left town to live it up. Occasionally his parents would hear from him, so nobody worried. But then some things started happening that made his friends wonder. Was he alive and well, or something worse? ( )