From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: Review of What Remains of Her by Eric Rickstad

Author: Eric Rickstad

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of publication: July 2018

I won’t say a word. Cross my heart and hope to die…

Jonah Baum, a professor of poetry at a local college in Vermont, sees his ordinary life come tumbling down when his wife and young daughter vanish from their home. No evidence of a kidnapping. No sign of murder. No proof that Rebecca didn’t simply abandon her marriage. Just Sally’s crude and chilling drawings, Jonah’s little lies, and the sheriff’s nagging fears that nothing is what it seems.

For Sally’s best friend, Lucinda, it’s something else. She trusts in Sally not to just disappear, not after they’ve shared so many secrets—especially about the woods and what they saw there. But she’ll never tell. No one would believe her anyway.

As the search for Rebecca and Sally intensifies, and as suspicion falls on Jonah, the disappearances become more relentlessly haunting than anyone can imagine. Because what’s seen in the light of day is not nearly as terrifying as what remains hidden in the dark…

In What Remains of Her, Jonah's world ends when his wife, Rebecca, and child, Sally, go missing. Sally's best friend, Lucinda, thinks a bad man in the woods took them. But they are never seen again despite many searches in the area. Years later, Jonah is a recluse living out in the woods when he finds a girl in need of rescuing. She reminds him of his daughter Sally. Lucinda, Sally's best friend, has always been haunted by not knowing what happened to Sally. But when a local girl goes missing, she is determined to find her.

For the most part, I enjoyed this one. It was a pretty good mystery. I didn't see the two twists at the end coming, so that was a nice surprise. I also loved the ending. I felt so bad for Jonah. I can't imagine not knowing what happened to your family for 20ish years. Having to live in a town where everyone was suspicious of you would be torture. I could see how Jonah ended up the way he did. I also liked Lucinda's character. Losing her friend so young really shaped who she was as an adult.

My only real complaint about the book was that it did slow down a bit in the middle. But the ending was worth it. I don't want to talk plot too much because I don't want to give anything away. I would recommend giving this one a try.

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About Eric Rickstad

Photo by Meridith Levinson

Eric Rickstad is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of The Silent Girls, Lie in Wait, and Reap, novels heralded as intelligent and profound, dark, disturbing, and heartbreaking. He lives in his home state of Vermont with his wife, daughter, and son.

Find out more about Eric at his website, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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