Title: Stolen Things
Author: R.H. Herron
Published: August 2019, Dutton
Format: ARC E-copy, 368 pages
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
A sensational crime, a
missing teen, and a mother and daughter with no one to trust but
themselves come together in this shocking debut thriller by R. H.
Herron.
“Mama? Help me.”
Laurie Ahmadi has worked
as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for
nearly two decades. She considers the department her family; her
husband, Omid, is its first Arab American chief, and their teenaged
daughter, Jojo, has grown up with the force. So when Laurie catches a
911 call and, to her horror, it’s Jojo, the whole department springs
into action.
Jojo, drugged, disoriented, and in pain, doesn’t
remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football
player famous for his on-the-field activism and his work with the
CapB—“Citizens Against Police Brutality”—movement. She doesn’t know what
happened to Kevin’s friend and trainer, whose beaten corpse is also
discovered in the house. And she has no idea where her best friend
Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.
But
when Jojo begins to dive into Harper’s social media to look for clues to
her whereabouts, Jojo uncovers a shocking secret that turns everything
she knew about Harper—and the police department—on its head. With
everything they thought they could rely on in question, Laurie and Jojo
begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except
themselves . . . and time is running out.
My thoughts: I read a lot of thrillers, so when I start reading one and can’t stop thinking about it, I know it’s going to be a good one. This is just that kind – one that starts off with a bang and never lets up!
This book is inspired by the author’s time as a 911 operator and to that end it felt authentic and real. I always love when an author is able to take their own life experiences and bring it into their novels. It allows for them to create characters that are much more dynamic as they are based in reality and the events they use are usually inspired by actual events.
I loved that the author took no time diving into the book…there wasn’t a ton of time spent setting things up, we just jump right in and from there, things continue at a relatively consistent pace. Not that I don’t like when authors take that time to set things up, but here it wasn’t necessary. Plus, it adds to the helplessness that Laurie is feeling about her daughter and that urgency to find her and figure out what is going on.
This book is full of secrets and some crazy twists that take you on a roller coaster of a ride. It looks at the fierce bond between a mother and daughter and begs the question, what do you do when you can’t trust those who are sworn to serve and protect?
This is totally the type of book you can binge-read in one sitting because you definitely won’t want to stop reading it once you start, but if you have to put it down for some reason, you will find yourself thinking about the characters. Even now, days after I finished reading the book, I’m still thinking about it. I am definitely going to be recommending this one to all my thriller-reading friends…it’s too good not to share!
