We’ve reached the end of the year! How did your reading go this month?

December is always a busy month and sometimes it’s hard to fit in reading but a quick, engaging book makes it a lot easier. I found this to be true with my December choice when I read Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner, our spotlight author.

Frankie Elkin is not a police officer or a private detective. She doesn’t have any special training and doesn’t carry a gun. What she does have is a need to go to an AA meeting every day and a burning desire to find the missing. Especially those who have been missing and forgotten.

That’s what brings Frankie to a poor Haitian neighborhood in Boston where Angelique Bodeau, a quiet, hardworking high school student disappeared ten months earlier. The case is still open, but the police have no new leads and, with limited resources and a steady stream of new cases, Angelique’s disappearance has become low priority. This is where Frankie’s talent shines – she talks to the family, asks questions of friends and acquaintances, sticks her nose in where it shouldn’t be, and tries to put herself in the shoes of the missing. With this case, Frankie begins to unravel a plot much more complicated than a girl who simply ran away – Angelique was trying to protect those she loved, but is it enough? And will Frankie find her before she becomes another statistic?

This was a gripping novel with lots of twists and turns. At times I found the reasons behind Angelique’s disappearance convoluted and too complicated, but I was invested on finding out what happened. Frankie is tough and independent with multiple demons of her own and Angelique is smart and courageous, characters that are easy to root for. A quick, exciting read.

That wraps up the Online Reading Challenge for 2021. Did you find something good to read this month? How was your reading this year? Did you find anything that became a favorite?

Stay tuned for information on the Online Reading Challenge for 2022 which will begins next month. More details will be on the blog on Monday, January 3rd!