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Summary
Summary
Two years ago, Ava's two-year-old son Noah went missing, and his body has never been found. Ava has spent most of the past two years in and out of Seattle mental institutions, shattered by grief and unable to recall the details of Noah's disappearance. Now she's back at the family estate she once intended to restore to its former grandeur. But as Ava's mind comes back into focus, her suspicions grow. Ava can't shake the feeling that her family and her psychologist know more than they're saying. Unwilling to trust those around her, Ava secretly visits a hypnotist to try and restore her memories. But the strange visions and night terrors keep getting worse. Ava is sure she's heard Noah crying in the nursery, and glimpsed him walking near the dock. Is she losing her mind, or is Noah still alive? Ava won't stop until she gets answers, but the price may be more than she ever thought to pay...
Author Notes
Romance author Lisa Jackson grew up in Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State University and started working in the banking/investment industry. In the early 1980s, she stopped working in order to become a stay-at-home mom and started writing romance novels at the suggestion of her sister and fellow romance author Nancy Bush. She published her first novel, A Twist of Fate, in 1983. Her books regularly appear on the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists. In April 2011 Lisa Jackson's title Devious hit the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list and in Aug 2012 her title You Don't Want to Know made The New York Times Best Seller List. In 2014 she continued this trend with her book, Close to Home.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This chilling stand-alone suspense thriller from bestseller Jackson (Without Mercy) brings every parent's biggest fear to life-the disappearance of one's child. Nightmare-plagued Ava Garrison still can't remember the details of the night her two-year-old son, Noah, went missing from her Washington State island home two years ago, but her memory is starting to return now that she's stopped taking the medications she believes contribute to her nightmares. To add to her woes, Ava suspects her shifty husband, Wyatt, is cheating on her with her therapist. Even worse, Ava must prove her innocence after she becomes a prime suspect in a string of brutal murders. Fortunately, she can turn for help to rugged stable hand Austin Dern, who rescues her after she takes a plunge off the dock from which Noah may have fallen the night he disappeared. Multiple red herrings and a host of sinister characters help keep the pages turning until the explosive conclusion. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
New York Times' bestselling author Jackson puts her touch on this dark thriller and tale of forbidden romance. Ava Church Garrison has it all. She's beautiful, a near-genius and wealthy. Married to a handsome attorney and living in her family's ancestral home on a small island off the coast of Washington, her future couldn't be brighter, except for one small problem. It appears to everyone, including Ava, that she's lost her mind. It all started when she lost her child. Two-year-old Noah wandered out of the house, and authorities believe he fell into the icy water and drowned. But Ava won't accept this. She keeps searching for Noah, her searches prompted by sounds and visions she can't control. No matter what she does, Ava keeps hearing Noah call for help and sees him toddling off toward the dock. To add to Ava's issues, she has her loony-bin-worthy family living with her. Her cousin, Jewel-Anne, wheelchair-bound following an accident that killed Ava's only brother, and the rest of her family treat her like she's a basket case. Even her best friend (who's Jewel-Anne's nurse) and the household help are creepy. In fact, everyone in the book qualifies as a character out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Plus, there's also the little problem of the escaped madman, who may or may not still be hiding on the island, and Ava's therapist, a woman she fears has grown too close to Ava's husband, Wyatt. Soon, the landscape is littered with bodies, and Ava is rapidly finding herself the target of a police investigation. With only the help of a newly hired hand on the estate, she tries to prove she's not crazy and find her son in the bargain. Jackson's book is crammed with suspects and a palpable air of creepiness, but readers will spot a number of inconsistencies in the story and ultimately grow weary of the way she draws out the action with unnecessary dialogue and details. Melodramatic and filled with a lot of pointless meanderings, but Jackson's many fans will still enjoy it.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Just because you're paranoid, as the saying goes, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you. In Ava Church Garrison's case, they could be everyone she's related to and just about everyone she's ever met, most of whom seem to live with her in the sprawling, Addams Family-style mansion she inherited. In the two years since Ava's son, Noah, disappeared, she's been plagued with hallucinations, seeing him outside and hearing his cries coming from his shuttered nursery. Recently released from a mental hospital and fed a daily dose of psychotropic drugs, Ava still manages to cling to the belief that Noah is alive, but quickly comes to realize that what she sees and hears ain't necessarily so. With a philandering husband eager to send her back to the psych ward and a vindictive, wheelchair-bound cousin who blames her for her injuries, Ava doesn't lack for enemies. Best-selling and prolific Jackson deftly throws in an escaped serial killer and the recent murders of Ava's psychiatrist and hypnotist to ensure that her creepily gothic thriller teems with sinister possibilities.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist
