Author: Karen McQuestion
Publication: AmazonEncore (April 1, 2011)
Description: Five years have passed since Angie Favorite’s mother, Laura, disappeared without a trace, and Angie still hasn’t recovered. Sure, things look normal on the surface—she goes to school, works her summer job, and argues with her older brother Jason—but she can’t shake the feeling that Laura didn’t leave by choice. Angie’s dad does the best he can, but his work as a musician keeps him on the road and away from home, where it’s up to Angie’s grandmother to keep an eye on the kids. She can’t be with them all the time, though, and she can’t help Angie when she is snatched from a mall parking lot by Scott Bittner. The girl narrowly escapes, and Bittner is arrested, but he takes his life in jail before he can offer an explanation for his crime. When his mother contacts Angie, begging forgiveness on her son’s behalf, the girl agrees to meet with her in hopes of finding answers to the seemingly random attack. But when she arrives at the massive Bittner estate, she is overcome by an unshakeable sense of foreboding…
My Thoughts: This was a nice middle grade/young adult mystery. Angie Favorite has not had an easy life. Her mother disappeared on the day of Angie's 11th birthday. No trace of her had been found. Six years later, Lily lives with her brother and her grandmother. Her dad is a struggling musician who travels a lot with his band.
One day, when Angie was picking up some dry cleaning, a man named Scott Bittner tries to abduct her. He tries to take her from the parking lot but Angie manages to get away. Unfortunately she is hurt in the attempt. The attack leaves her with a damaged wrist, hairline fracture of the skull, and anxiety attacks. She soon learns that the attempted kidnapper has committed suicide but it doesn't bring her any closure or relieve her anxiety.
Then, the kidnapper's mother contacts Angie to try to apologize for her son. She is a rich woman who lives in a fortress-like house. Angie very reluctantly agrees to meet with her. Mrs. Bittner immediately tries to get involved in Angie's life. This is made possible because her grandmother and fiancé are off on a cruise (non-refundable tickets). Angie's dad was supposed to be staying with her and her brother but he got a call from LA that someone wanted to buy some of his songs and he had to go.
Angie is a strong, smart character. I think that this book would be enjoyed by mystery lovers of all ages.
Favorite Quote:
So many times I thought of what I'd say to Scott Bittner when I saw him face to face. Usually I pictured it happening in the courtroom when they sentenced him to eighty years in prison. I wanted to tell him that I no longer felt safe unless other people were with me, that unexpected noises made me jump, that I had bad dreams every single night. And I had questions: How could you do this? Why did you do this? And finally: Why me?I received this book from Amazon as a part of the Amazon Vine program. It is available as a paperback and an ebook.
This sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... sounds interesting. I'm curious about how her mother's disappearance is connected to the attempted kidnapping. And why would her kidnapper want to kill himself?? I'll have to check Favorite out once it's available.
ReplyDeleteI'll add it to my list. It sounds like the sort of mysteries my students are asking for.
ReplyDelete