NOWHERE GIRL

Sixteen years after her twin sister, Savannah, was found dead in a derelict house on the edge of town, a bestselling thriller writer begins to uncover what really happened.

In Strecker’s (Night Blindness, 2014) latest, Cady Martino is at a crossroads: her marriage is on the rocks, endangered by lack of communication and problems with infertility, and the sudden rekindling of a high school crush has Cady questioning what she's willing to risk to find happiness. She has a core group of friends, including her best friend since forever, Gabby, and her brother, David, but her husband’s fascination with her wealth and her own weight issues continue to prey on her self-esteem. Most of all, however, she has never come to terms with her grief for Savannah. When she gains access to interview a convicted serial killer as research for her current book and, at the same time, the local police decide to reopen her sister’s case, Cady begins to discover things about Savannah’s life and death that lead her closer to the truth. The plot may seem somewhat familiar to suspense readers and the romance angle a bit contrived and exaggerated, but the novel offers a very appealing protagonist in Cady. She's plucky without being annoying, self-aware without being maudlin, and fiercely loyal without being blind. Her group of friends has an enviable bond, and the mystery focuses on personalities and relationships as much as it aims to reveal “whodunit.” In the end, this is a novel about great loss and refusal to surrender to the pain of this loss, showing instead how one can learn to live with it and, ultimately, find forgiveness and love as a survivor.

Compulsively readable.