In a Quiet Town
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"Turn[ing] a familiar suburban setting into a deliciously chilling landscape… Garza once again proves she's a master of twisted relationships." —Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife In this chilling new novel, a woman discovers that her estranged daughter is missing, but no one believes her, until she meets a man claiming to be her daughter’s fiancé. Tatum hasn’t seen her daughter, Adrienne, in years, not since Tatum’s husband—the pastor in their small California town—all but disowned her. When she finally gathers the courage to secretly reconnect with Adrienne, Tatum’s thrilled she’s even willing to talk to her. But then—Adrienne disappears. Tatum tries desperately to get the police or her husband to take her daughter’s disappearance seriously, but no one will listen, until a mysterious man shows up claiming to be Adrienne’s fiancé. It’s a relief to finally have someone who believes her, someone who’s trying as hard as she is to find out where Adrienne is. But can she trust that this stranger is who he says he is? And can she find her daughter before it’s too late?
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Solid Thriller With At Times Confusing Timeline / Character Splits. Reading this book the weekend of the funeral of yet another of the former kids I was in a small church, small town youth group with back in my teens was... interesting, to say the least. Because in its depiction of how at least some Christian pastors live... it was sadly all too real. I've seen the devastation among friends when their lives don't measure up to the perfection their parents, be they pastors or deacons, project, and I've seen some kids rise from troubled and/ or troublesome youths to upstanding adults. I've also seen those that maintained the perfect image as kids... unravel as adults. Here, Garza does a particularly solid job of showing a woman who is both a preacher's wife and a mother to her daughter waking up and realizing what is truly important... just in the nick of time. There is quite a bit of abuse here, both the psychological abuse of having to live up to the Pastor's standards - and being rejected when you don't - and outright physical abuse by others. This story is also yet another missing woman story. So know all of this going in, and if you have particular issues with any of it... know this may not be the best book for you.
Other than the more-often-than-not confusing breaks between multiple characters' perspectives and seemingly random jumping from one to another to another, the pacing and actual story here are remarkably well done. This is truly an excellent tale, and particularly well told... once you adapt to the jumps in perspective. The motivations of the characters are quite vivid and real, again, particularly for someone who came out of a very similar subculture, and even when other motivations of other characters are revealed... they still work quite well within the story being told, and it makes sense (at least to me, with my own life experiences) that being drawn into these types of orbits... is sadly all too plausible.
Overall, an excellent if darker tale, mostly well told, and a good bit of escapist thrills... for those who haven't actually lived remarkably similar tales. Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.