As the novel opens, we are in a dark basement with a girl who has been there for a long time, barely fed and never allowed to see the sun. She has a shy companion, Gus, and when she has the opportunity to make a break for freedom she takes it because Gus wouldn't have the nerve, and if they don't escape they will almost certainly die. returnreturnNow, go back eleven years, to the days and weeks before a girl and her mother go missing from a placid and close-knit neighborhood outside Chicago. What happened that led to those opening scenes, and who is responsible?returnreturnThere is no doubt this books is a page-turner. Told in multiple voices, it's never hard to keep the characters or the timeline straight, and the writing is accomplished without calling attention to itself. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep readers guessing, and more thrown in as the ending approaches. returnreturnIf this is what you're looking for, this story will hit the spot. I found the plot ultimately too far-fetched and, while the first chapters are well executed, there's a bit too much reliance on misery to launch and sustain the narrative. returnreturnHigh points for solid writing, pacing, and character development, points off for plausibility and reliance on the well-worn "girl locked in a room for years" plot device which for me is right up there with serial killers as a been-there-done-that-so-over-it story line. Those who love a thriller and aren't so picky about whether those thrills are realistic will likely be happy to restore those points, since it's quite a propulsive read.