(Reviewed by Ann Onymous )
What would you do if you found yourself suddenly awake —
In total darkness….
Where am I?
You don’t know Who you are
You don’t know Why
When
Or How you got there.
This intriguing dilemma attracted me to Mary Rocco’s debut novel.
Our main character turns out to be wife and mother, Cynthia Evans. She is injured and finds herself in the trunk of a car in the woods outside of a rustic cabin. She finally gathers her thoughts enough to realize she needs to get out of the trunk and escape before her abductors return.
She doesn’t believe her name is Cynthia, accused of murdering her husband and two sons. She has no memory of anything before waking up in the trunk. But she happens to meet Gabrielle, a young waitress, who is convinced that Cynthia is the wanted woman in the photo on the front page of the newspaper. Who is innocent and who is not?
The characters are sincere, if not brilliant, strong, determined women. Gabrielle is a lost soul, and this chance, brief encounter with Cynthia drives her forward in her life. A suicidal victim of domestic abuse and a graduate of her foster-home childhood, she latches on to Cynthia and her innocence. She doggedly works to find the real killers. The book ventures into cross-country trucking industry and illegal smuggling. The author’s theme of addiction includes heroin, gambling, power, greed and ‘love’ as Gabrielle is addicted to the wrong partner.
This ‘comfortable’ read was a quiet balm for me during these chaotic times. Escaping into this fictional work was a lovely distraction from today’s headlines. The author is a married lawyer, mother of two, from New York, and I am curious about her personal and professional background supporting these ideas in her book.
If you are ready for a satisfying story, enjoy this suspenseful crime novel to the end.