This was a really compelling story of a woman whose son goes missing. The cops basically have no leads and there's nothing to suggest what may have happened. Which puts Susan in a terrible position of having so many questions and fears, and no information. It was masterfully done.

The character of Susan is the focal point of the book. Who she is, what she's going through. She is the driving force more than any mystery of a missing persons case. She's so fully developed that you can't help but feel for her.

And even beyond just her, the whole world is so well built. You see her neighbors in detail. Her friends. Her estranged husband. Their extended families. Everything is so fully developed it's like an entire world Gutcheon has crafted. I love when a contemporary novel spends so much time on the world building that you get a clear picture of their lives. Nothing felt too limited in scope and everything had depth.

The only downside for me was the ending. I think for a book like this, any type of closure is going to feel at least a little underwhelming. It's just kind of the nature of missing persons cases. The mystery is the appeal, and then the answers can never live up to the hype. But it was still a great book.

I'd highly recommend this if you like a slow character study of a woman losing her son. It's brilliantly written and makes me want to pick up a lot more from Gutcheon.