Our story starts with Hannah, a thirty-something woodturner (*not* a carpenter), growing concerned as to why her husband, Owen, isn't home yet. While waiting, their 12 year old neighbor comes over to pass a note to Hannah, from Owen, consisting of only 2 words: protect her. The situation grows even more strange as a duffel with 60k+ is left in his 15 year old daughter (Bailey)'s locker. Hannah and Bailey are hastily led on a wild goose chase to figure out what Owen is hiding as it's imperative that Bailey's safety is relying on the answers.

I'm gonna be totally candid and say that I have allowed this book to expire from my Libby account 2 times now...I finally decided to read it the third time around. All because of the cover...:/. In my head I thought there was no way that a novel with a cover that looks like a cutesy beach read would pack a punch. I immediately associated it with a Nicholas Sparks type beat and put it off. I was SO wrong.

I loved this thriller because thrillers that involve double lives, running away, corporation scandal, etc. are sparse on my TBR, so this was a breath of fresh air. The story takes place only over the course of a few days and we follow Hannah's point of view through the events. I found her inner dialogue to be compelling and well-equipped to incite the psychological ~build up~ as the story unfolds. By the end I really felt for Hannah and Bailey and I loved Hannah's unwavering love for a child that wasn't technically hers. The plot itself was interesting and I could not predict the turns it was going to take although, this may be due to the fact that I never read thrillers like this. My only issue with the book was Owen. I felt that he was extremely selfish? He had only been married to Hannah for a year and for him to have put her in the position to be the sole provider for his teenager because of a mess that he had a hand in (and that the reader truly never finds out how deep it goes) was....wack. I know he was the piece that made the thriller thrilling but still...whatta loser dude. If you're looking for a thriller that doesn't involve murder/death I'd recommend this one! A quick and fun read.