The Next Time You See Me
Holly Goddard Jones
Touchstone, Feb 12 2013, $24.99
ISBN: 9781451683363
In 1993 in Roma, Kentucky, Ronnie Eastman vanishes. No one blinks; as the townsfolk expected no less of troubled Ronnie addicted to drugs, alcohol and sex. The one exception is Ronnie’s married “Sister” with a young daughter Abby, middle school teacher Susanna Mitchell who wants to know what happened to her sibling. She detests the holier than thou attitude of Pendleton the cop, friends and family including her school band leader Dale. All assumes Ronnie got what she deserved.
Thirteen-year-old loner Emily Houchens prefers role playing in the woods rather than friends. When she stumbles across a corpse, Emily decides to tell no one. Near retirement mechanic Wyatt Powell knows what it is like to be an outsider, but recently fell in love though he feels underserving. Finally Tony the black police detective, who dreamed of playing in the majors, returns to Roma after being away briefly; he investigates the disappearance of Ronnie.
Although ostensibly a mystery re what happened to Ronnie; The Next Time You See Me is more a deep look into the powerful force of what happened to Ronnie on people impacted by her disappearance. The key to this entertaining fresh suspense is that the prime characters are fully developed with each having doubts about the lives they live. Readers will enjoy Holly Goddard Jones’ engaging tale of the profound effect on the intertwining relationships when the dynamics change as the gap caused by deletion must be refilled by something or someone.
Harriet Klausner
Holly Goddard Jones
Touchstone, Feb 12 2013, $24.99
ISBN: 9781451683363
In 1993 in Roma, Kentucky, Ronnie Eastman vanishes. No one blinks; as the townsfolk expected no less of troubled Ronnie addicted to drugs, alcohol and sex. The one exception is Ronnie’s married “Sister” with a young daughter Abby, middle school teacher Susanna Mitchell who wants to know what happened to her sibling. She detests the holier than thou attitude of Pendleton the cop, friends and family including her school band leader Dale. All assumes Ronnie got what she deserved.
Thirteen-year-old loner Emily Houchens prefers role playing in the woods rather than friends. When she stumbles across a corpse, Emily decides to tell no one. Near retirement mechanic Wyatt Powell knows what it is like to be an outsider, but recently fell in love though he feels underserving. Finally Tony the black police detective, who dreamed of playing in the majors, returns to Roma after being away briefly; he investigates the disappearance of Ronnie.
Although ostensibly a mystery re what happened to Ronnie; The Next Time You See Me is more a deep look into the powerful force of what happened to Ronnie on people impacted by her disappearance. The key to this entertaining fresh suspense is that the prime characters are fully developed with each having doubts about the lives they live. Readers will enjoy Holly Goddard Jones’ engaging tale of the profound effect on the intertwining relationships when the dynamics change as the gap caused by deletion must be refilled by something or someone.
Harriet Klausner
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