Review by Booklist Review
McCallister (Just Another Missing Person, 2023) hits another one out of the park. Literary agent Camilla and her husband, Luke, are adjusting to life with a new baby. Luke's quiet and even tempered, so Cam is surprised when police arrive at her door. A hostage situation has arisen in an abandoned warehouse, and Luke is the suspected perpetrator. Before leaving that day, Luke had left Cam a mysterious note, but that's the only clue she has to his disappearance. Once the incident is over, Cam must navigate life without Luke, taking care of her daughter by herself, while hostage negotiator Niall keeps track of her. Seven years later, Cam is trying to have Luke declared dead so she can sell their house. Despite changing her name and distancing herself from his actions, she can't let go of the memories. With unknown dangers at her back and too many clues in front of her, she can't put her past aside or find closure. McAllister uses her standard smooth and emotional style to follow Cam through the story's many twists and turns. Extra perspective from Niall's point of view helps to bring the plot together, and all the puzzle pieces click together for a satisfying ending.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Marital secrets animate this heartrending standalone from McAllister (Wrong Place, Wrong Time). On a June morning in London, Camilla "Cam" Deschamps wakes to find that her husband, Luke, isn't home. Then she discovers the cryptic note he left behind: "If anything... it's been so lovely with you both." As Cam tries to convince herself that Luke left early for his ghostwriting job, she drops off their infant daughter, Polly, at day care before heading to work. Soon after she arrives at her office, Cam learns that a hostage situation is developing at a nearby warehouse and Luke is the gunman. The seasoned hostage negotiator on the scene is convinced Luke is a family man who won't resort to violence, but after Luke releases one of the hostages, he shoots the other two, then vanishes. Years pass with no sign of Luke, and Cam struggles to rebuild her life while secretly attempting to piece together clues that could point to her husband's whereabouts or explain his actions. Though the pace can drag and certain twists are a bit convoluted, the gut-wrenching plight of McAllister's three-dimensional heroine will keep readers flipping pages. This satisfies. Agent: Ariele Friedman, United Talent Agency. (Feb.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
McAllister's latest brilliantly constructed novel (following Wrong Place Wrong Time) is a perfectly calibrated mix of the thoughtful characterization that book clubbers will adore and the twist-filled plotting that armchair suspense junkies crave. Waking up one early summer morning and finding her husband Luke gone, Camilla Deschamps proceeds to get their daughter Polly ready for her first day of preschool. Arriving at the literary agency where she works, Cam tries to reach Luke in between dealing with all the tasks that have accumulated while she was on maternity leave. Later that morning, while Cam is watching a breaking news piece on the television in reception, two police officers enter the office and ask to speak with her. Cam is about to find out exactly why she hasn't been able to reach Luke. The icing on this delectable literary confection is its delight in language and words, which is artfully reflected in the protagonist's own appreciation of "le mot juste," as well as her love of reading and the transporting power of books. VERDICT A first-rate, fiendishly clever suspense novel that fans of Lisa Jewell, Megan Miranda, and Laura Lippman will eat up with a spoon.--John Charles
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When her husband is accused--and seems guilty--of committing a violent crime, Camilla Deschamps must decide whether she truly believes in his goodness and innocence. In the sweet--and sometimes challenging--blur of her first nine months of motherhood, bookworm Cam has found domestic joy with her daughter, Polly, and her husband, Luke, as well as enough downtime to do some pleasure reading, so she's nervous about returning to her job at a London literary agency. Her first day back certainly doesn't turn out as she imagines: Unable to find Luke, she drops Polly off at day care and goes to work. When Luke doesn't answer her texts for hours, she starts to worry. Then, on a television in her office, she sees live footage of an ongoing siege at a nearby warehouse--and realizes her husband seems to have taken three people hostage. Several hours later, despite the intervention of Niall Thompson, a trained police hostage negotiator, two of those three people will be dead, and Luke will be in the wind. Seven years pass, and while both Cam and Niall seem to have moved on in various ways, they're both tethered to the memories and pain of that June afternoon. Niall's wife left him that same day, and ever since he's been troubled with dreams of the gunshots that destroyed not only the lives of the hostages, but also his career. Cam finds joy in Polly's growth, but she can't let go of her love for her husband--and her deep-rooted belief that he must still be out there, and may have an explanation for everything. Cam's fierce love for Luke is admirable, but it also feels somewhat naïve, even as she and Niall begin to uncover discrepancies and coincidences about that day and the weeks leading up to it, many of which seem like quite a narrative stretch. The sweet mundanity of Cam and Luke's "before" relationship is the true treasure of the book, as is the tension of the early chapters. McAllister asks us to consider whether blind faith in those we love is always justified--and worth the cost. Shines most when asking complicated questions; as a thriller, it's a little too neat. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
