Just a warning, it’s going to be a very Charlie Donlea week up in here at A Librarian and Her Books because I inadvertently wound up reading two of his in a row thanks to him being a book club pick by one of our Read Between the Wines members. This one, The Girl Who Was Taken, was the one I chose independently without even realizing he’d also penned our book club choice.

Synopsis

Two girls, both high school seniors, disappear from the same party on the same night in North Carolina. Megan McDonald returns. Nicole Cutty does not. A year after their abduction, Dr. Livia Cutty, the sister of the still missing girl joins up with the one who came back to solve the mystery the police still haven’t cracked. Together, they follow leads and Megan’s slowly returning memories to uncover secrets and lies that all culminate into quite the shocking conclusion.

Review

I’ll start off with the good, because I’m not a monster. Donlea definitely had me. Several times. He’s kind of a master of the red herring, and at one point I just assumed everyone was a murderer. It’s easier that way. I definitely never saw the big reveal coming. Character-wise I thought Donlea did a great job fleshing out Livia, Nicole, and Megan. Nicole, especially, had a lot of layers which added to her complexity and made me keep guessing about her motivations and her full role in the mystery. Frankly, this is what you need with a mystery/thriller. Feeling a connection, whether good or bad, with a character, is paramount to becoming invested in their story. I really enjoyed that aspect.

Fair warning, there’s a lot of cutting open of dead bodies and all that, considering Livia’s work as a medical examiner. I can tell Donlea did a lot of research, and he definitely infused some really technical aspects while also stressing the importance of the job. Each body represents a person who is loved by someone. It’s important to take care and show reverence. On the other side of the coin, Donlea also did a wonderful job examining the psychology of a killer. When things came together, they made sense. Hopefully you’re getting that there’s a lot I liked about this book, because I’m about to get petty, which is something I don’t like to do.

Mr. Donlea, for the love of God, a girl who is 145 pounds is not fat. I get that many young girls have insecurities that make them feel as if they are even when they aren’t, but it wasn’t just this character’s internal monologue. Every other character also judged the hell out of this poor girl, and it seemed as if I’m supposed to believe her to be pathetic and weak simply because of her weight. I mean, if a few extra pounds are all it takes to eradicate a woman’s critical thinking skills in times of distress, there’s a huge swath of us about to get kidnapped! Stop sending these ridiculous messages that add nothing to the story and actually distract from the good stuff. A lot of freaking women read crime fiction. Stop pissing us off.

For my second slightly petty issue, what’s with the true crime fan hate? In both the books I recently read of his, true crime fans are depicted as twisted, salivating monsters who get their jollies from other peoples’ suffering. Sure, maybe there are some people who are that way, but it’s a massive mischaracterization of… oh, I don’t know… YOUR WHOLE DAMN FANBASE! Who do you think reads murder mysteries and thrillers?? We certainly don’t read it for the body shaming.

I know, sometimes I sounds like a total buzzkill. At least Donlea didn’t drone on about the underwear choices of our heroines like someone else I know. (Looking at you, Christopher Golden.) Really, I did find this novel enjoyable and quite exciting. I admit to my quibbles being petty, and I wouldn’t urge someone not to read it simply because I was a little annoyed. Overall, it’s worth it.

Published April 25, 2017 by Recorded Books. ASIN B072276IPJ. Narrated by Nina Alvamar. Runtime 10 hrs 49 mins.