When Sadie’s little sister is murdered and the investigation goes nowhere, she sets off to bring the killer to justice. Some months after, a journalist picks up the story of a missing girl and her murdered sister. Can he piece together what happened and where she is now? Or will Sadie just be another statistic…

I wish this was a love story because I know how it goes in one like mine, where the only moments of reprieve are the spaces between its lines.

First up, if you’re interested in reading Sadie, do check out the audiobook version, it is so well done. Sadie has a stutter and Rebecca Soler reads it in a way that conveys Sadie’s frustration at not getting the words out. It’s full cast, so no dodgy fake accents for dialogue but also the podcast sections are totally believable as a podcast. There’s even subtle background noise that you would expect if you were recording an interview out and about.

It alternates between “The Girls” podcast and Sadie’s narrative, the investigation following Sadie’s trail. It shows how difficult a missing persons case can be, they find loads of clues to Sadie’s whereabouts, but each time she’s moved on. People don’t always come forward with the information they know, and not always for nefarious purposes. Sometimes they just don’t know something’s important.

But love is complicated, it’s messy. It can inspire selflessness, selfishness, our greatest accomplishments and our hardest mistakes. It brings us together and it can just as easily drive us apart.

Sadie had a tough life. Her addict mother had a string of boyfriends, and it doesn’t take long to come to the conclusion of what was going on. She did her best to look after her sister, right up until the night she was killed. They live in a trailer and money is tight. However it acknowledges that her mother was a human being too, with faults and a huge amount of guilt at not being able to protect her girls.

Sadie’s got a tough exterior, but her facade cracks under stress. She is really a lost young women who has had her world ripped apart. She feels adrift, and the only thing left is revenge, or justice. Full of tough subject matter, it’s full of emotion. Although not one for people who like neat endings.

ATY: 41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: 30. A book featuring an amateur detective

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Book Source: Purchased