Read July 17, 2013
I used to be addicted to reality TV. I like to think I gave it up so I could read magnificent books like this one.
What makes Still Missing so eerily, chillingly, heart-stoppingly good?
1. The protagonist isn't perfect. In fact, she's a bit of a ne'er-do-well, with no post-secondary education, no marketable skills and a job she neither likes nor does particularly well. Her one evident talent remains unfulfilled. Even her closest friends are kind of...well...blah;
2. Her backstory isn't perfect. She has a difficult, alcoholic mother, a goofy, shiftless stepdad, and a tragic event wiped out the rest of her nuclear family, which haunts her to this day;
3. The way she reacts to hardship isn't exactly inspirational. She slams doors (literally and figuratively), she curses a lot, and she treats her dog better than she cares for most people. She has a closet full of demons, and time will not erase them;
4. Her captor, quite frankly, is fascinating. He's literate, articulate, and has POTENTIAL. He could have been somebody special if he'd had help when he needed it the most;
5. The twists and turns, while they didn't always make sense - especially the culmination of Annie's captivity - were always appropriate, because they were products of Annie's desperation and her fears. The pacing was excellent, and Angela Dawe's narration of the audiobook was amazing (every word was just so RIGHT);
6. A Canadian author actually writing about Canada - and the setting isn't Toronto? Wow!
This book is unforgettable. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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