Author: Joshilyn Jackson
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: William Morrow/Harper Audio
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Book Description: Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world.
Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and chilling truths.
Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: Joshilyn Jackson has become one of my favorite authors over the last few years, and she seems to get better with every book. She excels in writing these domestic thrillers, that will make those fine hairs raise as you read and/or listen to her stories.
When this book opens, Bree, our protagonist, wakes up thinking she sees a witch in her bedroom window. After thinking about it, she thinks it was just something crazy and it couldn’t possibly be real. She wakes to care for her newborn son and two pre-teen daughters while her husband packs for a business trip. Later in the day, she sees the same woman in the parking lot of her daughters school and not long after her baby goes missing.
This sets up the narrative of this story and puts Bree on a crash course that will forever change her and her family’s lives. Lies, innuendos, secrets are all part of this story and makes this book so compulsive to read. Jackson is masterful at giving just enough information to pull you in and and then takes you on so many twists and turns that even until the last page you will not have the full picture of what the end result will be.
This a fun read, though I think this will scare any new parent, so be aware. Have fun with this one and savor Jackson’s writing. If this is your first time reading her, make sure to go back to her backlist, there is so much goodness there.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 