Still Missing chronicles Annie's horrific abduction and imprisonment by a lunatic she calls The Freak, as told to her "shrink". Each chapter represents a therapy session, as Annie understandably needs a great deal of help processing her ordeal. It's clear from the very beginning that Annie's case has generated 24-hour news cycle notoriety, though the circumstances of her homecoming are only given to us in pieces during her sessions. How did Annie get away? Is the cops' investigation ongoing? Can Annie's relationship with her boyfriend survive? Can her parents and best friend find a way to support her and help her heal? How could someone ever heal from such tragedy?
I liked a lot of things about this book. The pacing was great. Annie's keen observational skills were believable, adding a lot of terror to her reports of The Freak's behavior. And though Annie suffers brutality beyond measure, Stevens doesn't present a damsel in distress.
This was my blizzard read, so my rating reflects just what a perfect choice this was...a twisty page-turner was just what Mother Nature ordered. The plot points are rather obvious at times. Annie's rather brash demeanor is a bit incongruous with her trauma and circumstances. The therapy angle isn't necessary and there's not a lot of originality here. But did I eat this up like so much snow cream? Indeed, I did. Sometimes there's a book that you know you shouldn't like as much as you did, but against all odds the timing and circumstance works out for a great read.
Sharing too too much of the plot would take away from your potential inclement weather fun, so I'll just say that I give this 4 snowflakes out of 5.
This review is also posted at: http://cannonballread.com/2016/01/against-all-odds/ Cannonball Read is a race to read and review 52 books in a year, hosted by many followers of entertainment site pajiba.com
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