Standalone Thriller Not Armstrong's Best Work, But Still Compelling

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Keeping devastating secrets from her past away from her safe little life in a Chicago suburb has taken a toll on 30-year-old Bree Finch.  A former stay-at-home mom, she's now separated from her husband, working a part-time job, and seeing her young daughter only on the weekends.  She knows these changes make her look unstable, can see the judgmental looks in the eyes of the other moms, but Bree has to do what she has to do to keep Paul and Charlotte safe.

While at the park alone one day, Bree witnesses a shocking crime.  A child is kidnapped.  Although no one else sees the incident and no parent at the park is missing their kid, Bree knows what she saw, even if the police think she's making up a story to get attention.  If the authorities won't take the disappearance seriously, she will have to investigate on her own.  When the corpse of a young woman is subsequently found in the park, Bree is surer than ever that something horrible has happened.  Soon, she's fully embroiled in a situation that's spinning out of her control.  Who is the dead woman?  And what really happened to the boy Bree saw being taken?  Did her eyes deceive her?  Or is the child even now in grave danger?  

I'm a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series, so I'm always up for a new book by her.  A standalone, Wherever She Goes is not as unique or riveting as other of the author's crime thrillers, but it is compelling.  The characters and plotline might be cliché, but I still burned through the pages of Wherever She Goes because I cared about Bree and had to know what was going to happen to her.  In spite of that, this one ended up being another like-it-didn't-love-it read.  It's not Armstrong's best work, but I'm still a fan.  Her mystery novels are always engrossing, even if some are better than others.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of lots of other mystery/thrillers, but no specific title is coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, innuendo, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find