On my way back from Maine a few weeks ago, we stopped to go to the bathroom – at a Barnes & Noble, of all places. I, not actually needing the bathroom, went into the store to stretch my legs and grab some coffee. I swear I was not in the store for ten minutes total (waiting for the others to use the bathroom), but I left with a new book. (I make quick work of Barnes & Noble and often have to limit myself severely, cause even with a Kindle, books are still awesome.)

BUY: The Girl Who Disappeared Twice

The book I purchased was The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, by Andrea Kane. I was drawn to it by the sheer fact that it was a crime thriller – a genre I happen to love most of the time, oddly enough (chick-lit and crime drama… two very different styles!). I was hoping for an exciting read. The last crime thrillers I really enjoyed were those by Tana French – In The Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place. I like an exciting story of trying to figure out who is responsible for a crime and reading about the various ways the characters involved go about their investigation… it’s kind of like reading an episode of Law and Order, except a little more high-profile, usually involving FBI or special agents.

The story revolves mostly around Casey Woods, a young woman who has started an unconventional investigation service called Forensic Instincts.  The members of her team have multiple talents, their biggest asset being their ability to read the subtle clues that people give off.  Because they are not affiliated with official law enforcement, they are able to go beyond the barriers of regular investigations to help them along (the policy seeming to be “just don’t ask how we got the information”) and eventually solve the case.  Their track record is high.

In the novel, Forensic Instincts is hired by Hope Willis, whose five-year-old daughter Krissy has gone missing.  The kicker?  Hope’s twin sister Felicity was also abducted when she was a child, and her case had gone gold thirty-two years before, with Felicity never being found.

In the case of this book, I was actually able to figure out most of the mystery very early on.  Perhaps the author did this on purpose, or perhaps I’m just too well-versed in plot structures to be able to get to the end of mystery without knowing everything anymore.  In either case, knowing what I knew did not stop me from wanted to read until the very end.  This is partially because I wanted to find out if I was right, and partially because Kane told a good story.  It moved at a quick pace, and I never felt bogged down by technical details, as I sometimes do in books that include forensics.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a quick, exciting read.

Coming soon… the review of Twisted, an earlier novel of Kane’s that kept me awake reading.