When I was a new mom, I had a recurring nightmare about losing my baby.  In the dream, I ran from infant to infant, frantically scrutinizing each of their faces only to realize, to my utter horror, that I had no idea what my own child looked like!  How could I rescue my baby if I couldn't even recognize them?  It was a terrifying thought.  

In Until I Find You, Rea Frey takes these common parental fears to a whole new level, creating a story that is decidedly unnerving.  It centers around Rebecca Gray, mom to 3-month-old Jackson.  As a recent widow and a new mother, Bec is battling grief, exhaustion, stress, and loneliness.  To add insult to injury, she has a degenerative eye disease, which led to the dissolution of her career as a professional cellist and has now robbed her almost wholly of her vision.  Desperate to prove her independence, Bec soldiers on, but her life is not an easy one.  

Bec thinks she's just being paranoid when she gets the odd sensation that something is not quite right.  She feels as if someone is watching her.  At home, things seem to have been disturbed the slightest amount.  A friend dismisses Bec's fears, urging her to get some rest.  She does, but when she awakes and goes to retrieve her son from his crib, she finds another baby in his place.  Sure she's going crazy, Bec checks again.  Even though she's never seen Jackson's delicate features clearly, she's positive this is not him.  A mother—even a blind one—knows her own child.  Doesn't she?  Bec has no family and her friends can't be certain whether the baby is Jackson or not.  So many infants look so alike, after all.  There has been so much upheaval in Bec's life that, really, who can blame her for becoming a little...overwrought?  Not caring what anyone else thinks, Bec plunges ahead, getting the police involved in the baffling situation.  Everyone might believe she's insane, but she's determined to find her son.  No matter what.  Is the baby in Bec's house Jackson?  If he's not, who is he?  And where has Jackson gone?

Like I said, it's a chilling premise.  It leads to an intriguing mystery, which kept me turning pages, wanting to know what was going to happen next.  True, I didn't find Bec, who's whiny and victim-y, super likable.  Still, I sympathized with her.  I did see the story's big plot twist coming, which was a little disappointing.  More so is the fact that it's totally far-fetched, which made it feel less than satisfying.  All things considered, then, Until I Find You was just an okay read for me.  It's engrossing, but I didn't love the characters and the ending irritated me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

Some Top Ten Tuesday topics are complete head-scratchers for me.  Others are no-brainers.  This week's is the latter and, honestly, I'm glad for a prompt that doesn't require a lot of thinking on my part.  Coming up with a list of My Ten Most Recent Reads was a cinch.  If you want to jump in on this easiest of TTT topics, use a past one, or even come up with your own, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to get started.  It's tons of fun!

My Ten Most Recent Reads  

1.  The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton—This swashbuckling adventure/mystery story is all kinds of entertaining.  Grade:  B

2.  Until I Find You by Rea Frey—Although the denouement of this one is far-fetched and dissatisfying, I liked the novel otherwise.  It's a mystery/thriller about a grieving widow with a degenerative eye disease that has rendered her nearly blind who is convinced someone has replaced her newborn with someone else's baby.  Grade:  B-

3.  The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein—Narrated by Enzo, a pooch with a soul that is "very human," this book tells the story of a race car driver who must deal with some paralyzing life situations.  His faithful dog witnesses it all and does his best to provide his owner with comfort and joy, in spite of their trials.  I listened to this novel on audio.  While the tale kept my interest, I didn't end up loving it for a variety of reasons.  Grade:  C+

4.  The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben—This missing persons mystery stars Wilde, a man with few memories of his life as a feral child living alone in the forest.  Although he still prefers trees to people, he agrees to help search for a teenage girl who has vanished.  There are elements of this novel that I liked, but overall, it was just an average read for me.  Grade:  C  

5.  The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore (available July 27, 2021)—In this historical novel which begins in 1926, a Hollywood socialite receives a shocking diagnosis of leprosy.  Sent to a Louisiana sanitorium for treatment, she must come to terms with a life she never could have imagined living.  I found this one interesting and engrossing, although I didn't end up absolutely loving it.  Grade:  B-

6.  The Cold Vanish by Jon Billman—Lark gave this book, about the astonishing number of people who go missing in America's national parks, a rave review on her blog.  Like her, I found it fascinating.  Grade:  B

7.  All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis—Another historical novel, this one revolves around an agoraphobic woman who retreats to her home after a horrific assault.  Becoming a foster mother, especially to a young Native American girl who has been severely abused, changes everything for her and her family.  Grade:  B-

8.  The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase—I love me an atmospheric family secrets story and this one certainly qualifies.  It's about a nanny who's caring for the young children of a grieving, mentally unstable woman.  When a mysterious newborn arrives on their doorstep, it throws the whole household for an unexpected loop, one that ends in unthinkable tragedy.  Grade:  B

9.  We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin—Odette Tucker's backwater Texas hometown is rife with secrets, number one being what happened to True Branson and her abusive father, both of whom disappeared without a trace ten years ago.  Everyone in town thinks True's younger brother, Wyatt, murdered them both, even though nothing about the case has ever been proven.  Odette refuses to believe her old boyfriend is capable of anything nefarious, but when a young girl is seen with Wyatt, she has to rethink everything she knows about him.  Grade:  B

10.  Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (available May 6, 2021)—I've been really excited about this much-hyped novel, which looked like a fun rom-com/cozy mystery.  It's about a woman who accidentally kills her blind date and enlists her overbearing Indo-Chinese aunties to help her hide the body.  It's funny, yes, but it also got so over-the-top absurd that it just annoyed me.  Bummer.  Grade:  C

There you go, the last ten books I've read, from the pretty good to the not-so-great.  Have you read any of these?  What did you think?  What are the last ten books you've read?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!