Title: Stolen Things by R.H. Herron
Publisher: Dutton
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 365 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
When a 911 dispatcher picks up an emergency call to hear her daughter on the line, her worst nightmare becomes reality.
Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for almost two decades, but nothing in her nearly twenty years of experience could prepare her for the worst call of her career—her teenage daughter, Jojo, is on the other end of the line. She is drugged, disoriented, and in pain, and even though the whole police department springs into action, there is nothing Laurie can do to help.
Jojo, who has been sexually assaulted, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his work with the Citizens Against Police Brutality movement, though she insists he would never hurt her. And she has no idea where her best friend, Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.
As Jojo and Laurie begin digging into Harper’s private messages on social media to look for clues to her whereabouts, they uncover a conspiracy far bigger than they ever could have imagined. With Kevin’s freedom on the line and the chances of finding Harper unharmed slipping away, Laurie and Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except themselves, not even the police department they’ve long considered family . . . and time is running out.
Review:
Stolen Things by R.H. Herron is a fast-paced, suspenseful mystery.
911 dispatcher Laurie Ahmadi is stunned when she answers a call from her sixteen year old daughter Jojo. She and her police chief husband Omid quickly discover Jojo is at football player Kevin Leeds’ house. Laurie reaches her daughter first and she is distraught to learn that Jojo has no recollection of how she ended up at Kevin’s home or who assaulted her. Omid and Laurie soon find out their daughter has resumed her friendship with Harper Cunningham who is now possibly missing. What secrets could Jojo be hiding? And how are Kevin and Harper connected to what happened to Jojo?
Laurie will do anything to protect her daughter and she is determined to keep her from further harm. She is somewhat out of control as she begins unlocking Harper’s secrets. Absolutely horrified by what she has unearthed, Laurie does not whom she can trust. With her anger reaching new heights with each new revelation, will Laurie be able to find Harper? And what will she do with the shocking information she has uncovered?
Jojo and Harper are best friends but she soon discovers that Harper is not the person she believed her to be. Jojo makes no effort to hide the information she finds from Laurie and she refuses to be kept out of the search for her missing friend. Although her confidence is shaken, she is absolutely certain that Kevin did not hurt her but will she be able to convince her mom he is innocent of any wrongdoing?
Stolen Things is an intriguing mystery with a diverse cast of characters. The storyline is multi-faceted with socially relevant story arcs. With the tension growing with every alarming discovery, R.H. Herron brings this compelling mystery to a twist-filled and action-packed dénouement. Readers of the genre will enjoy this gripping mystery.
