By: Kimberly Belle
ISBN: 978-0778307716
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: 6/26/2018
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars
It was supposed to be an ordinary camping trip. When Kat Jenkins awakens to the police on her doorstep, her greatest fear is realized. Her nine-year-old son, Ethan, is missing—vanished from the cabin where he’d been on an overnight field trip with his class. Shocked and distraught, Kat rushes to the campground where he was last seen. But she’s too late; the authorities have returned from their search empty-handed after losing Ethan’s trail in the mountain forest.
Another mother from the school, Stef Huntington, seems like she has it all: money, prominence in the community, a popular son and a loving husband. She hardly knows Kat, except for the vicious gossip that swirls around Kat’s traumatic past. But as the police investigation unfolds, Ethan’s disappearance will have earth-shattering consequences in Stef’s own life—and the paths of these two mothers are about to cross in ways no one could have anticipated.
Racing against the clock, their desperate search for answers begins—one where the greatest danger could lie behind the everyday smiles of those they trust the most.
Praise
"Gripping and compelling with great characterization, Three Days Missing is a first-class read."
-B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors
"A missing child, a ticking clock-every parent's worst nightmare come true. Kimberly Belle delivers the goods-a rocket-paced story with a heart that will keep you riveted through every hairpin twist and turn. Breathless suspense!"
-Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter
"Kimberly Belle delivers Three Days Missing with a powerful punch and a skillfully twisting plot that flings you headlong into a riveting conclusion that you'll never see coming."
-Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go
"Kimberly Belle's Three Days Missing is her best book yet. And that's saying a lot. This one is vividly written, emotional, and engaging, with real, three-dimensional characters who will always keep you guessing. And the finale...it's a right cross to the reader's jaw I never saw coming. Buckle up and turn the pages as fast as you can. This one's a winner!"
-David Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter and Bring Her Home
"Three Days Missing is a highly entertaining thriller with crisp writing, believable characters, and a plot that delivers... I almost swallowed this book in one sitting."
-Julia Heaberlin, internationally bestselling author of Black-Eyed Susans
"Readers who were riveted by Belle's The Marriage Lie will be entertained by this suspenseful tale of love, jealousy, guilt, and betrayal."
-Library Journal
"Three Days Missing is a chilling, twisty tale pitting two moms against each other in a desperate search for a boy, and the truth. Gripping."
-Kaira Rouda, national bestselling author Best Day Ever
"[A] gripping novel of suspense...Belle does a masterful job of building tension ... Readers will be glad to get to know these two very different, yet equally strong women."
-Publishers Weekly
"A missing child, a desperate mother, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing -Three Days Missing has all the right stuff for an engaging, suspenseful read."
-Wendy Walker, author of Emma in the Night and All Is Not Forgotten
"Kimberly Belle's Three Days Missing is exactly what you want in a thriller-riveting, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. When an eight-year-old is kidnapped from a remote Georgia campground, two seemingly opposite mothers fight to recover the boy. Every minute counts as Belle keeps the story racing to its gripping end, but the most intriguing element of the book is the interplay between disparate characters. Belle resists easy conclusions and nearly every relationship-be it spouse, family, friend, or foe-doubles down on its intricacies during the course of the action, making readers acutely aware of the unfathomable space between ourselves and others. Absolutely unputdownable. I couldn't let go of this book until I'd devoured the last page."
-Mindy Mejia, author of Everything You Want Me to Be
"Three Days Missing is a taut, intelligent, heart-pounding thriller about two mothers whose lives intersect when the unimaginable happens and a little boy goes missing. Belle weaves a spellbinding tale of suspense and family drama that twists and turns until the final pages. I couldn't put it down!"
-Karen Katchur, author of The Secrets of Lake Road and The Sisters of Blue Mountain
About the Author
Home is where the laptop is.
I grew up in Eastern Tennessee, in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A gorgeous area, for sure, but back then I couldn’t find an ounce of beauty in the blue ridges and winding country roads. I was too focused on planning my escape, which I made to Atlanta to attend Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts school for women.
It was in Atlanta I met the Dutchman, who whisked me off to the Netherlands. What was meant to be a six-month stay turned into twelve freezing but fabulous years, during which I began checking off the countries on my to-see list. Two decades later, I’ve still not seen them all.
Living abroad changed me in ways I can’t count, and though I don’t have the passport to prove it, I am in my heart and soul half Dutch. I know the culture, I speak the language like a native, I love that country like my own.
Fifteen years ago, the Dutchman and I moved back to Atlanta with our two children, but every chance I get, I hop a plane to Amsterdam so I can stick my toes in sandy Dutch soil.
And of course, wherever I go, the laptop also travels. Read More
My Review
Taut. Twisty. Riveting!
Talented author (and a favorite of mine), Kimberly Belle returns following The Marriage Lie, with yet another gripping heart-pounding domestic thriller —THREE DAYS MISSING a child abduction case and a race against time in search for the truth.
Not everything is as it seems.
Kat Jenkins is getting a divorce from her emotionally and physically abusive husband, Andrew.
She is trying to raise her son and desperately trying to put her traumatic past behind her. East Atlanta neighborhood, of course, is not the best part of town, but all she can afford since she left her former life behind. The innocent child, Ethan, is stuck in the middle.
Kat's worst nightmare comes when the police knock on her door, and she discovers her eight-year-old son is missing. Every mother's secret terror.
Ethan went on an overnight camping trip to Dahlonega, GA (north of Atlanta) for an overnight class trip. Ethan is very smart with a high-IQ (little Einstein) which also comes with a particular set of challenges - socially awkward. An analytical thinker who needs constant stimulation and has no friends. Kat worries about him.
He is unhappy about this trip, but he likes his great-grandpa's compass that his mom has let him borrow.
NOW ETHAN IS MISSING. When the police arrive, he has been missing for three hours. Did someone kidnap him, or did he get lost? Or could it be her soon-to-be ex-husband?
We meet another mother from the school, Stef, who seems to have it all.
Stef and Kat come from different walks of life, but they may have more in common than they know.
The two women and their sons interconnect for a desperate race against time, and what goes on behind closed doors comes to the surface. Could Stef's son be the key to the disappearance, and does he know more than he is saying?
Ethan's disappearance has earth-shattering consequences for Stef, as her path crosses with Kat.
Vividly told from two different voices, Kat and Stef —two mothers who may have more in common than they realize. We get to hear from Ethan in the final wrap-up with a twist you do not see coming.
Superb characterization!
As always, Belle knows how to build riveting suspense and keep you guessing. This one has it all from past to present, bullying to Xbox gaming, politics, revenge, and a cautionary tale. You can never go wrong with Kimberly Belle. I have read every book of hers, and she continually lands on my top books each year.
Compass: "This thing can help you find your way, but first you have to know where you are. Don't ever forget where you are, sweetness. Don't ever lose sight of your true north."
PS I love any books set in Atlanta since I spent most of my adult career there, plus I love the Dahlonega area. My ex-boyfriend resided there on the lake and spent a lot of time in this quaint town, hiking and more.
I read this when it came out but realized today, did not follow up to post a review. A special thank you to the author and the publisher for an advanced reading copy. Film Rights Sold (YAY!) MOVIE NEWS!
