The One I Left Behind (Jennifer McMahon)

I first discovered the genius that is Jennifer McMahon back in 2009 when I was browsing my local bookstore for something to read on vacation.  I came across a book called Island of the Lost Girls with a haunting picture of a little girl on the cover.  So engrossed was I in this book that I literally did not want to go sightseeing with my husband JUST so I get continue to read the darn thing!  Here's my review of that one:  http://1776books.blogspot.com/2009/07/island-of-lost-girls-jennifer-mcmahon.html.  Since then, I've been hooked, and you'll find reviews of other McMahon novels in this blog.

In her newest, The One I Left Behind, she shows why she is one of the most preeminent mystery writers of our day.  What happens when someone you thought was long dead shows up very much alive?  Reggie is a gifted architect who has tried to rebuild her life after her actress mother, Vera, was thought to be the last known victim of the serial killer Neptune.  Vera's body was never found, but her hand was left on the steps of the police station.  When Vera is found alive but disoriented years later, Reggie must come back to her childhood home to try to piece together what the police cannot.

With a slew of interesting characters and an ultra-suspenseful plot, the reader is always left breathless and wanting more.  McMahon seamlessly weaves together chapters narrated by Reggie's 13-year-old self, her adult self, and pages from a crime novel written about the case.  In less capable hands, this becomes a dangerous way to tell the story, as things can become discombobulated.  But McMahon does it masterfully, and it only enhances her storytelling.  I can't recommend The One I Left Behind strongly enough.

MY RATING - 5

Don't Breathe a Word (Jennifer McMahon)

The trademark of Jennifer McMahon's books are "creepy-looking children" on the cover (Think Village of the Damned). I have often wondered if the kids who pose for the covers are told that they are supposed to have a "creepy child" face. I think I would be rather insulted. Oh well...on with it.

Don't Breathe a Word is a dark, sinister, unsettling book that makes your heart beat just a little faster. McMahon has a rather twisted mind, and it shows deeply here. Phoebe and Sam are a couple with a history. Sam is the brother of Lisa, a young girl who disappeared many years before searching for the Fairy King, Teilo. Strange phone messages and notes begin to be delivered to Sam and Edie, their cousin, supposedly coming from Lisa...."I am back from the land of the fairies. I'll be seeing you soon." Is this truly Lisa, or is someone playing a dark, twisted trick on everyone involved?

This book is well-written for about the first three-quarters, and then just gets too implausible for me. The ending was deeply unsatisfying, especially because I normally love McMahon's books. While certainly not my favorite (I didn't want to do anything else on my cruise vacation except read Island of the Lost Girls.), if you would like a twisted read, this may be the book for you.

MY RATING - 3

Island of Lost Girls (Jennifer McMahon)

"Alice in Wonderland" was a book that I enjoyed in my childhood, but that somehow creeped me out. There is something very unnatural about someone named the Mad Hatter, who, by the way, will be played by Johnny Depp in an upcoming version (run to your local theater and see "Public Enemies"). While some kids (and adults) just fell into this world with no problem, the analytical side of me did not really want to read about a cat who smiled all the time and about two creatures named Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

McMahon masterfully takes this strange world that Carroll created and inserts it into "Island of Lost Girls". It begins with Rhonda watching, unbelievably, as a six-foot tall person dressed as a rabbit kidnaps a young child.

Feeling guilty about doing nothing, she helps the investigation. McMahon reminds me of Picoult; however, instead of telling the story from different viewpoints, she tells it from different time periods. The book chillingly weaves together the story of the present with the past....Rhonda's best friend, Lizzy, vanished years ago when they were kids.

It will leave you breathless as you try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Don't plan on reading this on vacation, as you will not want to do anything else but read!

MY RATING - 5