STOLEN THINGS - R.H. Herron

3.5 stars

A 911 dispatcher receives a call. It's her daughter. What would you do?

Writing: ★★★★ 1/2
Concept: ★★★★
Reveals: ★★★
Suspense: ★★★★

Have you ever had a thriller where the writing was so good, so intense, that you enjoy yourself even as the plot takes off in odd directions? Yeah, that's Stolen Things.

Laurie is a 911 dispatcher. Her husband, Omid, is the local police chief. One day at work, the woman on the other end of the line isn't a stranger—it's Laurie's daughter, Jojo, and she's been drugged, assaulted, and left in an unknown location.

There is no force stronger than a determined woman with nothing to lose and everything to save.

Laurie, Omid, and the police team find Jojo quickly and discover that she's in the home of famously anti-police pro football player Kevin Leeds. Leeds' athletic trainer is found dead near Jojo. Jojo's friend, Harper Cunningham, is still missing. What happened?

Stolen Things takes off like a rocket. A woman on a mission, Laurie commits to finding the perpetrator and avenging her daughter's assault with a vengeance that was one of the reasons she voluntarily took herself of the police force—Laurie didn't trust herself to act rationally when it came down to the wire. Well, now it's down to the wire. And Laurie says f*** it.

One of the many things I loved about Stolen Things was its portrayal of motherhood as a source of strength, not weakness. Laurie was a strong character, and while some of her decisions where definitely questionable, I have to admit that I understood them. Her choices were bad or more bad, and she chose based on what would be the best for her family. There was a ruthlessness that I admired.

Things I didn't like:
The writing was killer, but the references to this exact place in time were numerous. As I was reading, I was able to resonate with certain cultural references, but at the same time it kept throwing me out of the story as I was reminded that this story was happening NOW, in 2019. I'm not sure these references will hold up in 5 years. I also struggled with the author's intense opinions shining through the mystery. Now, for the most part I was in agreement with the author's stance, but just because I agreed doesn't mean it wasn’t distracting—in my opinion, the mystery should have been the forefront.

*****

Original notes: This was such an engaging read. I actually bit my nails while reading—call this an honest nail biter. Others have mentioned the heavy-handed beliefs of the author detracting from their reading experience, and I have feelings about that too. Review to come!

Thank you to Dutton via Netgalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.