I've read and loved almost all of Abigail Johnson's books so I was excited to discover this one when I was looking for something to read on my Kindle.
It's about a girl called Kaitlyn who has never really thought to question her mother's intense over-protectiveness, why they move so often and the odd things she's forced Kaitlyn to learn. Her mother has been the only constant in her life, so Abigail just adores her and goes along with these things. But when she gets her first boyfriend, she starts thinking that her mother deserves the same kind of happiness and without asking, sets up an online dating profile for Mom.
She expected her mother to be annoyed, sure, but she'd get over it when she realised how happy she could be.
She did not expect her mother's reaction t be so extreme. Within minutes of finding out about the dating account, Kaitlyn and her mother are on the run, stealing cars and holing up in seedy motel rooms as they escape from something Kaitlyn can't even begin to understand.
To try and keep her safe, Kaitlyn's mother leaves her alone, but it isn't long before trouble knocks on the motel room door and Kaitlyn is forced to run herself. As she tries to track down her mother and find out the truth about herself and the past her mother had tried desperately to keep from her, she discovers things about herself and her capabilities she could never have dreamed of.
This was a fast paced thriller with a few good twists and turns. Every chapter ended on a cliff-hanger, daring you to turn the page and keep reading. It just felt a bit formulaic and I never really warmed to Kaitlyn or the guy she grudgingly begins to trust as they hunt for the truth. And I won't spoil it for you, but the ending really didn't do it for me.
It feels very much like a first book, so I wasn't that surprised to discover in a an author's note at the end that this was an early book for Johnson and that she always loved it and dug it back out after publishing some of her other books and gussied it up for publication. I have books like that. Early attempts that I still feel enormous affection for. Characters that still haunt me. I just know they're not good enough to be published and I'll let them linger on my hard drive for my eyes only.
I kind of wish Johnson had done that with this one. It's not terrible, but it's not great and her other books are great. So I don't really recommend this one. Read something else by Abigail Johnson and you won't be disappointed.
But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:
A fast-paced original paperback thriller about a girl who discovers that her mother might not be who she says she is . . . and now someone is hunting them both.Katelyn wants the best for her widowed mom. Surprising her with an online dating profile seems like a good idea.
It isn't. Katelyn's mom hasn't just been acting overprotective all these years--she's been hiding something. And now that anyone can find them online, Katelyn is in a desperate race against time to uncover the secrets of the past--not only her mom's, but also her own.
As Katelyn's world unravels, she begins to trust the guy who brought this nightmare to her door and to doubt the one person she never thought she would. Because her mom has been hiding for a reason: she's been waiting.
Too bad it was a let down. Hopefully she won't publish another drawer book.
ReplyDelete