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jess_mango's review
4.0
Probably over a decade ago, I read Paula McLain's novel [b:The Paris Wife|8683812|The Paris Wife|Paula McLain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320545874l/8683812._SX50_.jpg|13556031] with my book club. The Paris Wife was historical fiction about the wife of [a:Ernest Hemingway|1455|Ernest Hemingway|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1574217836p2/1455.jpg]. With her latest novel, When the Stars for Dark, McLain sets a different sort of mood and moves us forward to the more recent past.
This novel is set in California in 1993 and follows our protagonist Anna Hart, as she investigates the disappearance of girls. Anna has spent most of her career working in Missing Persons in San Francisco. After a tragedy strikes her family, Anna flees to the town of Mendocino, where she spent time in a foster home when she was younger. There, she learns of the disappearance of a teenager, Cameron, the daughter of a film star. Anna dives deep into trying to figure out what happened to Cameron. In the course of her investigation, she digs up trauma from her own past and becomes involved in the investigation of other girls who are also missing (including the real life case of the abduction of Polly Klaas).
This novel was both suspenseful and emotional. We see Anna becoming obsessed with the case perhaps as a way of trying to bury her own past or maybe even as a way to heal/redeem her past. I found it hard to put this book down. It was set at a time just as the internet was becoming a thing. I got my first email account in 1992 and this was set in '93. I remember the case of Polly Klaas being all over the news. I liked how the author wove real life events into her fictional tale.
What to listen to while reading...
Ordinary World by Duran Duran
Like a Prayer by Madonna
Goodnight, California by Kathleen Edwards
Talk to Me of Mendocino by Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey
ilomilo by Billi Eilish
Every Breath You Take by The Police
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
This novel is set in California in 1993 and follows our protagonist Anna Hart, as she investigates the disappearance of girls. Anna has spent most of her career working in Missing Persons in San Francisco. After a tragedy strikes her family, Anna flees to the town of Mendocino, where she spent time in a foster home when she was younger. There, she learns of the disappearance of a teenager, Cameron, the daughter of a film star. Anna dives deep into trying to figure out what happened to Cameron. In the course of her investigation, she digs up trauma from her own past and becomes involved in the investigation of other girls who are also missing (including the real life case of the abduction of Polly Klaas).
This novel was both suspenseful and emotional. We see Anna becoming obsessed with the case perhaps as a way of trying to bury her own past or maybe even as a way to heal/redeem her past. I found it hard to put this book down. It was set at a time just as the internet was becoming a thing. I got my first email account in 1992 and this was set in '93. I remember the case of Polly Klaas being all over the news. I liked how the author wove real life events into her fictional tale.
What to listen to while reading...
Ordinary World by Duran Duran
Like a Prayer by Madonna
Goodnight, California by Kathleen Edwards
Talk to Me of Mendocino by Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey
ilomilo by Billi Eilish
Every Breath You Take by The Police
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
laurareane's review
3.0
I actually have no idea when I read this book but after listening to four chapters, I realize I have ready it before. Don’t remember enough to rate it.
clambear's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.75
Idk, really. Like it came together in a way I wasn’t expecting because it didn’t really make sense. Just kind of random storylines somehow connected but you get lost in the timeline and the characters and don’t really know what’s happening. I just feel like we also don’t really see the main character grow, which is disappointing.
lochnessmunster's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
pam2375's review
4.0
I liked this book about Anna, a detective, mother, wife, daughter, sister and a person living with a deep trauma.
Anna has experienced another life changing event and decides to go 'home' to try and sort things out. It is there that she gets immersed in a missing persons case of a young teenaged girl.
My biggest criticism of this book is the number of characters that I felt that I needed to keep track of. I'm not even sure that all of them really needed to be there.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in April 2021.
Anna has experienced another life changing event and decides to go 'home' to try and sort things out. It is there that she gets immersed in a missing persons case of a young teenaged girl.
My biggest criticism of this book is the number of characters that I felt that I needed to keep track of. I'm not even sure that all of them really needed to be there.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in April 2021.
lastpaige111's review
5.0
Couldn’t put it down and had to. Augh, why must we have to work while engrossed in a powerful story? Once finally back to it, I stayed up past midnight — unheard of — to reach the end.
Oh protagonist Anna Hart, I feel you.
McClain has written a masterpiece of the genre, which makes me even more proud that I guessed the perp.
Oh protagonist Anna Hart, I feel you.
McClain has written a masterpiece of the genre, which makes me even more proud that I guessed the perp.
cindy_f's review
5.0
As a fan of Paula McLain’s writing, I wasn’t sure what to expect since this book is a departure from Paris Wife, an absolute favorite of mine. In this story she fictionalized real life characters that fit with her story, and did so with skill and sensitivity.
After a traumatic event, Anna Hart, a SF detective travels to Mendocino, her childhood home. She was in the foster care system after her mother abandoned her and was taken in by a loving family there. When she learns of a missing girl in the area named Cameron, she offers her services to the sheriff, her childhood friend.
This fictional story occurs in 1993, during the time real life Polly Klass was taken from her home. She also added the story of Jaycee Dugard’s abduction to the story. I remember both cases like it was yesterday because I lived in the bay area at the time. Anna wonders if Cameron’s disappearance is related to Klass’s kidnapping. She even interviews Polly’s parents in Petaluma.
This is a fast paced multilayered thriller as Anna works this current case, and recalls her childhood friend’s disappearance in the ‘70s. She also confronts her dark past and slowly unfolds the trauma that resulted in her fleeing to Mendocino. I know I’m not doing this book it’s well deserved justice but I loved this thriller!
After a traumatic event, Anna Hart, a SF detective travels to Mendocino, her childhood home. She was in the foster care system after her mother abandoned her and was taken in by a loving family there. When she learns of a missing girl in the area named Cameron, she offers her services to the sheriff, her childhood friend.
This fictional story occurs in 1993, during the time real life Polly Klass was taken from her home. She also added the story of Jaycee Dugard’s abduction to the story. I remember both cases like it was yesterday because I lived in the bay area at the time. Anna wonders if Cameron’s disappearance is related to Klass’s kidnapping. She even interviews Polly’s parents in Petaluma.
This is a fast paced multilayered thriller as Anna works this current case, and recalls her childhood friend’s disappearance in the ‘70s. She also confronts her dark past and slowly unfolds the trauma that resulted in her fleeing to Mendocino. I know I’m not doing this book it’s well deserved justice but I loved this thriller!