Still Missing
by Chevy Stevens
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Book Reviews of Still Missing
Book Review: Not an easy read, but gripping and powerful.
Summary: 4 Stars
Still Missing is Chevy Stevens' debut novel, and if her first book has anything to say about her writing, I would bet she's going to be sticking with the thriller genre for sometime.
Annie O'Sullivan was pretty content with her life at the age of thirty-two. A semi-successful realtor, she has a good boyfriend, a fabulous old Victorian house, and a loving golden retriever named Emma. On a day like any other she's at an open house for one of her listings. She's about to pack up and head home when a last potential client pulls up. Little does Annie know, but the potential client has been stalking her for years. Still Missing is Annie's story about the year she spent as a hostage to The Freak, and the deep hole of depression and fear she's working her way out of, all while trying to help the police identify her kidnapper and the people who may have helped him.
As a debut novel, Still Missing was impressive. Once I became involved in Annie's plot, it was hard to put down, even during the most disturbing and difficult parts. Many times I wanted to cry with Annie, for Annie. But she persevered and so did I. Stevens' doesn't mince over the more difficult aspects of the kidnapping, it's not hard for the reader to figure out what's going to happen to Annie. It's a difficult read, sometimes explicit, and many times heartbreaking.
My only complaint is the inconsistency between the two narrative parts. At the beginning and end of each chapter Annie is supposedly speaking to her therapist. My problem is that Doc never speaks back to Annie, and there are no quotation marks to signify speech. It's almost like reading a letter that Annie is writing to her therapist. Later in the novel when Annie has dealings in the present with family members and the police there is regular dialogue, so I wish Stevens' had blended these two parts instead of trying to separate Annie talking to Doc from Annie's story. It seemed like a tool an inexperienced writer would rely on, and I think Stevens' is better than that.
Still Missing is not an easy read, Annie is kidnapped and raped and even worse things happen to her. But if you can get past the difficult parts you will find Stevens' debut a gripping thriller and Annie's story a powerful one.
Book Review: "Let it be over."
Summary: 4 Stars
"Still Missing," by Chevy Stevens, is a stomach-churning thriller about the abduction of a thirty-two year old realtor by a mentally disturbed man. Most of the book consists of Annie O'Sullivan's heartrending sessions with her therapist. She pours her heart out, cursing and ranting as she recalls the events that changed her life on a day when she was conducting an open house. Annie had no idea that she would be attacked and spirited away to a mountain cabin in Vancouver Island, where she would be held against her will for approximately one year. Her kidnapper, whom she calls the Freak, controls every aspect of her daily existence, threatens and abuses her, and nearly robs her of her sanity.
Her ordeal is horrifying; even after she manages to escape, part of her is "still missing." She has "trust issues," is furious at her unsympathetic and self-absorbed mother and ne'er do well stepfather, can no longer relate to her friends, and mourns for the Annie who is gone forever. In addition, she abhors the media's interest in her and stubbornly refuses to sell the rights to her story. Stevens effectively opens a window into the mind of this unfortunate woman who, because of the trauma she suffered, believes that she can never let her guard down again. She eats irregularly, sleeps poorly, can no longer work, and is wondering how she will ever reassemble the shattered the pieces of her life. Fortunately, Annie has considerable strength of character; a lesser individual would never have made it back.
If the author had been satisfied with the aforementioned plot, this would have been a powerful and touching work of psychological suspense. Unfortunately, Stevens throws a monkey wrench into the works when she concludes the novel with a series of far-fetched twists and turns. What a shame. This is a promising debut, and it would have been even more successful had Ms. Stevens not yielded to the temptation to overcomplicate matters with implausible revelations. Still, she deserves credit for creating a compelling work of fiction featuring a strong and resilient heroine whom we grow to care about and admire.
Book Review: This book was aaahhhhmazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
Still Missing is about a young woman named Annie O'Sullivan. She's 32, a real estate agent, has a patient and loving boyfriend, lives in her dream house with her dog Emma. Things are looking up for her at work since she is in the running for head realtor of a big condo complex. Her biggest worries are when her mother plans on returning her cappuccino maker, arriving on time for dinner with the boyfriend and selling the property that she is hosting an open house for. At the end of her day when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. She was wrong.
Told through her sessions with her psychiatrist you learn of Annie's year-long captivity with a sadistic psychopath in a remote cabin somewhere up in the mountains. Through these same sessions you also learn of her struggle as she tries to pick up the pieces of her life and put them back together again, regain her shattered spirit, and the ongoing police investigation to identify her captor.
WOW!!!
This isn't the type of book that you say you love because it's about such a disturbing and scary subject, but it is definitely one that you cannot put down. I literally lost sleep in order to read this book (and no, I'm not complaining). Ms. Stevens does a phenomenal job in not only telling you Annie's story, but making you live it with her. There were times where I was hearing her talk and I listened as her therapist while other times I felt as if I were Annie herself.
This book isn't always easy to read and I will forewarn that Annie is physically, mentally and sexually abused. But I must also say that I think it is told in a matter where it isn't offensive, overly graphic nor crude.
Overall, this was a very good novel (if unsettling). It will break your heart countless times (yes, I did cry more than once), but I must admit it is one of the best thrillers I've ever read. Chevy Stevens is one author that I will definitely have an eye out for. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.
This book was provided for review by St. Martin's Press.
Book Review: Page-turning roller coaster ride of a psychological thriller!
Summary: 5 Stars
NO SPOILERS HERE. What an engrossing roller-coaster ride of a psychological thriller! Here are the mostly upsides of it to me, with a quick nod to downsides some might find in it that have differing tastes from mine.
What I liked:
- Unique approach: I loved that each chapter was a therapy session in which we learn only the heroine's side of her tale of abduction, terror and her attempts now to rebuild her life.
- Nicely layered plotting with ever-ratcheting suspense: Just the story of her abduction and psychological tale of attempting to recover from it would have made a decent story, but add on the search for who the man was that abducted her and why, and it just took it to that "I'm so involved in this, I just can't put it down" level.
- Completely had me emotionally involved with the character and action, without going overly graphic with the terrors of her abduction: It takes some fine writing to get across some of the truly horrendous things her captor was doing to her, and still capture the genuine horror of them in such an understated way that doesn't turn you off reading it.
- Some nice twists. Though I was fairly certain about one twist, ultimately it's true to it's psychological thriller roots - it's the why people do things that's the real twist, even more than the who.
Those who might not like this one:
This reminded me of many of my more favorite psychological thriller types of books and shows. It's Sharp Objects: A Novel done with better depth. It's Criminal Minds: The First Season or Law and Order: Criminal Intent told from the unique perspective of the victim. If you didn't or don't like those - you're probably not going to like this one.
BOTTOM LINE: Engrossing, page-turner of a psychological thriller that completely hooked me from first to last page.
Book Review: Page turner for sure!
Summary: 5 Stars
Still Missing is author Chevy Stevens' debut novel. I'd heard good things about it, but the cover blurb from Karin Slaughter sealed the deal.
Annie O'Sullivan is a realtor on Vancouver Island. She's just finishing up an open house and is almost ready to leave when a polite, well dressed man asks if she would mind if he had a quick look around before she locks up. He seems okay, so Annie says yes. " What the hell, a few more minutes wouldn't kill me."
The okay looking guy abducts Annie and keeps her prisoner for over a year....
Still Missing opens with Annie finally seeing a psychiatrist she feels she can talk to after she escapes. Slowly but surely we learn the details of her time in captivity - her fears, resolve and will to survive no matter what. I normally don't like first person narrative, but it is absolutely the right style for this novel. I found myself holding my breath many times as I frantically turned page after page.
For me the book was two parts - the kidnapped year and the time after Annie returns to her life. The return to her life isn't the relief you would expect. Stevens has thrown in some twists that will have you guessing right 'til the end.
An absolutely thrilling debut from a new Canadian voice. I can't wait to read her second novel Never Knowing - due out in the summer of 2011.
I found Stevens' background on Still Missing interesting - she was a realtor on the island and between potential clients at open houses "she spent hours scaring herself with thoughts of horrible things that could happen to her. Her most terrifying scenario, which began with being abducted, was the inspiration for Still Missing."
Fans of Karin Slaughter, Chelsea Cain and Lisa Gardener would like this book.