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fictionaltherapy 's review for:
When She Returned
by Lucinda Berry
* This review is filled to the brim with spoilers *
You have been warned.
I've been on a huge kick lately of quick thriller/mystery-esque books, so picking this up on Kindle Unlimited was a no brainer. Not to mention, the synopsis pulled me in immediately.
A woman shows up at a gas station, clearly disheveled, holding an infant and screaming for help after being missing for 11 years.
Say what? Of course I want to get through this book and figure out what happened to her for such a long time.
That is, until I quickly learned why she was gone for 11 years. I wasn't expecting a cult theme, to be honest, and I was disappointed to learn that Kate, a seemingly intelligent woman who loves her job, has a few conversations and up and leaves her family upon her own will.
I will say, it was interesting, at least. Cults are very real, and even though I can't understand how quickly it brainwashes people, I was feeling a bit of empathy towards Kate. She was so easily manipulated. The one thing I didn't like was how quickly it escalated from "getting a hot story for my job" to "I'm abandoning my car with all of my belongings in a Target parking lot and leaving my family behind because this random man I met told me I should give my life to Jesus instead."
Honestly, the one character I enjoyed was Abbi, and I just felt so terribly for her the whole read. She barely remembered her mother because she was so young when she went "missing". She finally gets her back, and her mother ends up trying to kidnap her and bring her to the horrible cult.
I also don't really see the point of having the step mother as a character at all. The father, Scott, pushes that relationship and all of her feelings to the side as soon as his long lost love arrived back.
I dunno, the ending really seemed like it happened way too fast, and was a messy ending as well.
Glad I read it, but wouldn't really recommend as it was such a quick, unsatisfying story that left me with more questions than answers.
You have been warned.
I've been on a huge kick lately of quick thriller/mystery-esque books, so picking this up on Kindle Unlimited was a no brainer. Not to mention, the synopsis pulled me in immediately.
A woman shows up at a gas station, clearly disheveled, holding an infant and screaming for help after being missing for 11 years.
Say what? Of course I want to get through this book and figure out what happened to her for such a long time.
That is, until I quickly learned why she was gone for 11 years. I wasn't expecting a cult theme, to be honest, and I was disappointed to learn that Kate, a seemingly intelligent woman who loves her job, has a few conversations and up and leaves her family upon her own will.
I will say, it was interesting, at least. Cults are very real, and even though I can't understand how quickly it brainwashes people, I was feeling a bit of empathy towards Kate. She was so easily manipulated. The one thing I didn't like was how quickly it escalated from "getting a hot story for my job" to "I'm abandoning my car with all of my belongings in a Target parking lot and leaving my family behind because this random man I met told me I should give my life to Jesus instead."
Honestly, the one character I enjoyed was Abbi, and I just felt so terribly for her the whole read. She barely remembered her mother because she was so young when she went "missing". She finally gets her back, and her mother ends up trying to kidnap her and bring her to the horrible cult.
I also don't really see the point of having the step mother as a character at all. The father, Scott, pushes that relationship and all of her feelings to the side as soon as his long lost love arrived back.
I dunno, the ending really seemed like it happened way too fast, and was a messy ending as well.
Glad I read it, but wouldn't really recommend as it was such a quick, unsatisfying story that left me with more questions than answers.