Then:
Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot.
She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter.
What kind of person would abandon their daughter?
Now:
Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family.
But her real father has sent her a letter.
And now Ally is missing.
A gripping twist-filled thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Teresa Driscoll.
What did I think?
Erik Therme is fast becoming one of those authors where I choose to read his book simply because he has written it; I don't need to read the blurb as I know it'll be a good one and boy was this the case with Keep Her Close. I picked it up and could not put it down; it's so easy to read it in one sitting as it's quite short at 247 pages but there is so much going on that I just had to keep reading until the end.
Dan and Holly find a little girl abandoned in a parking lot; not so much a baby in a basket but a 3 year-old standing on a sign that says 'free to a good home'. Holly takes to the child immediately and after several months of red tape, Holly and Dan are allowed to adopt her and call her Ally. Her origins have never been hidden from Ally and naturally she is curious about her birth parents. When she receives a letter out of the blue claiming to be from her birth father, Dan and Holly worry that it may be a hoax and, unbeknown to them, Ally decides to meet 'Frank'. That's the last time that Ally is seen.
I found the whole story very tense and Dan's volatility reminded me of Liam Neeson's character in Taken; willing to do absolutely anything to get his daughter back with absolutely no regard for the consequences of his actions. Ally's naivety was quite believable as you can just imagine someone of college age thinking that they are an adult and know better than their parents. You think you're invincible in your late teens, before the scales drop from your eyes and you see the horror of the real world.
I don't really want to go into the plot and spoil it for others but I found it very interesting how it developed from one person's almost throw away comment. It was almost like lighting a touchpaper and seeing the flame spreading, so much so that Dan had difficulty identifying the point of origin. It reminded me of the phrase that led to the murder of Thomas à Becket with Henry II uttering 'Will no one will rid me of this turbulent priest?' and it being taken as an instruction to kill. You just never know who might be listening!
Clear your schedule if you're reading Keep Her Close; it's a read-in-a-day kind of book as it's so difficult to put down once you start it. I love Erik Therme's writing; his visualisation conjures some amazing images in my mind and I do feel as if the book is playing out as a movie in my head. Not every book translates well to screen, but I think Keep Her Close would be perfect as a film - I'd definitely be in the queue to see it.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
Buy it from:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Apple
Kobo UK
Kobo US
Google Play
About the author:
Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature. Join Erik’s mailing list to be notified of new releases and author giveaways: http://eepurl.com/cD1F8L
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Thank you so much for kicking off the blog tour today Michelle x
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