ALL IS NOT YET LOST

In this novel, a woman struggles to rebuild her life after a violent tragedy exposes her family’s deep dysfunction.

On the surface, Jana Spencer lives an unremarkable small-town life. She works as a grant writer at a health clinic and worries about her teenage children: sullen, game-addicted Kyle, 18, a high school senior, and his vivacious sister, LaRissa, a 15-year-old freshman. Jana and her husband, Don, a handsome mechanic, were high school sweethearts, and her best friend, Sarah, lives next door. The cracks start to show when Jana gets a call alerting her that her daughter was absent from school that day. LaRissa isn’t at home or with any of her friends, and doesn’t answer her phone—in fact, no one has seen her since she attended a church social the night before. Kyle denies knowing anything, but seems to be acting strangely. After a sleepless night with no sign of LaRissa, Don calls the police to report her missing. The family members’ fear and anxiety only escalate the tensions between them. Jana starts sleeping in the guest room while Don and Kyle nearly come to blows. The police suspect Kyle isn’t telling them the truth. Then they find LaRissa’s abandoned purse and phone and figure “something must have happened” to her (“Teen girls don’t leave their phones behind voluntarily”). When they discover her body, it seems as if things can’t get much worse—but this is just the beginning. Most of the story is told from Jana’s point of view, with a few scenes focused on the case’s lead detective, Alphonse Simmons. As she comes to the realization that her life is a lie, Jana is sometimes tiresome and sometimes brave, ringing true to American motherhood: doing laundry, fixing dinner, putting up with her own hypercritical mother, arranging LaRissa’s funeral instead of her 16th birthday celebration. Jana’s journey—from collapsing in shock and drowning her guilt in wine to determining to learn the truth no matter what, doggedly pursuing retribution for LaRissa’s torment, and finding the courage to create a new life of purpose—is ultimately moving. With characters that are mostly well drawn, lifelike dialogue, and brisk pacing, Kovar’s novel is a compelling read that’s hard to put down.

A gripping tale about a devastated mother trying to find justice for her daughter.