kld718's Full Review: Carlene Thompson - Since You've Been Gone
I have read one or two other books by author, Carlene Thompson so purchased this one from the bargain book section one day while shopping. She seems to be a good author and I have enjoyed some of her other stories.
Rebecca Ryan finds herself traveling from New Orleans to Sinclair, West Virginia after having been told by her cousin Molly that their Aunt Esther had just been diagnosed with cancer. Rebecca had sworn never to return to the town she grew up in after leaving to attend Tulane University at the age of eighteen. This sworn after her younger brother, Jonnie (Jonathan), had been murdered there eight years ago. She stops at the local drug store on the way in and is surprised to run into Lynn Hardison, an old friend and now the wife of her stepbrother, Doug. We discover that Rebecca has had ESP since the age of nine when she was in a car accident with her father and Lynn used to make fun of her when they were growing up. Lynn brings up Jonnie’s death and immediately throws it in Rebecca’s face about how she wasn’t able to save him.
Rebecca gets on her way and heads to the Ryan house. She has a vision while driving through the storm. A vision of a little boy, tied up, but drawing comfort from a little stuffed toy he has. Unfortunately, she comes out of the vision to late to avoid the tree in front of her car. She awakes in the hospital to find Clayton Bellamy, her stepbrother’s friend and old childhood crush, standing over her. But she is more worried about Sean, her dog and traveling companion. Clay’s shift is just ending so they head out to find the dog before heading to the Ryan home. It isn’t until after they find Sean that Clay decides to break the bad news. It seems that Molly’s son, Todd, had been kidnapped right from their home while left with a babysitter. Rebecca confesses to Clay about the vision, he doesn’t seem to believe her though and doesn’t comment.
They head to Molly’s home instead. The police don’t want to let them in until Clay tells them that she is Chief Bill Garrett’s niece. Molly asks Rebecca to help her find Todd by attempting to use her ESP. But Bill already senses that Rebecca knows something. He believes Rebecca when she tells him and has all of the abandoned buildings in town searched for the little boy. When they make it to an old furniture building, they find Todd’s blanket and stuffed toy, but no Todd.
Will they find Todd in time? Or will he have the same fate as Rebecca’s brother, Jonnie? Will Rebecca be able to help him?
One thing about Carlene Thompson is that she makes characters that you can relate to in real life. I don’t know about the whole ESP thing with Rebecca Ryan but I’m sure there are those in the world that believe they have ESP. She always finds a way to make the story work in a believable way. I’m not the sort of type that believes in that sort of thing but Thompson writes it into the story in a way that makes me believe it can happen. As the clock ticks down on little Todd’s disappearance, you can’t help but wonder if the family will go through another tragedy with loosing another one of it’s young members.
The whole pace of the story is great. Thompson does not leave you wanting to quickly turn the pages in boredom by giving to many details at one time. The plot moves along quickly and the characters are actually interesting. For those that don’t like the lovey dovey stuff through into a lot of stories, this book may be for you. Although there is a relationship formed over the course of the plot, it’s not the center of attention. Its there as a subplot. The main focus, of course, is the kidnapped child and how Rebecca deals with the potential loss of another loved one. And how she deals with the town’s memory of what happened years before and her inability to help her brother. It’s about the suspense and the mystery, along with a little paranormal thrown in to add to the intrigue. The end is a little unexpected, but I’ve learned not to expect the perfect ending with Thompson.
I’m not saying this is the best book that I have ever read, but if you are a Thompson fan, you’ll definitely enjoy it. I have read two other books from Thompson and they do rate about the same in my book. She seems to be consistent in her writing; it’s not overdone and not filled with romance. What’s better is that the characters and subject matter are interesting and make you want to turn the pages. I, no doubt, will be picking up more of Carlene Thompson’s books in the future.
~ Happy Reading!
Kim
ISBN: 0-7394-1924-2
Format Read: Hardcover
Published: September 2001
Pages: 344
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