Shirley J. Adult Fiction Child Abduction
What She Knew: A Novel by Gilly MacMillan 596 pages
How many times have we walked with a child only for the little one to want to run ahead of us whether we are willing or not? That happens to the mother in this story. Out for a day of fun with her 8 year old son. He, Ben, asks if he can run ahead? Its a normal Sunday, so, sure. She lets him, but, when she catches up and is looking for him, she believes him to be hiding from her ready to jump out and scare her when he can. But, Ben disappears and his Mom, Rachel goes out of her mind when she realizes he really is gone. The terror too terrible to even think about happens. Police and search parties look for him. Days pass, Rachel's newly remarried ex-husband and her "perfect" sister seem to blame her for not watching him better. When she flubs a media event where she is supposed to read aloud a written script the police have given her to try to appeal to the abductor, Rachel ad libs her own remarks threatening the killer then smiling on camera as she thinks she came off as a strong person but instead looks guilty herself and according to the police may have jeopardized her son's safety. Things get worse, the public turns against her seeing her as a suspect - she was the last person to see Ben. Social media starts attacking her as a liar and a murderer though the police and her sister beg her not to go on social media. Rachel can't help but think some unknown monster has stolen her son from her, but, the longer he is gone, she begins to wonder about everyone she knows. This is a real nail biter from start to finish and you will see that everyone in the book has the potential to have done the deed. The plot twist is really well done. It will make you say, "Wow!" Again, the sheer emotion involved here I would recommend this one for adults, though, it is a cautionary tale. Discretion should be used if younger readers want to attempt this one.
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