No Time to Wave Goodbye

This dramatic and poignant sequel to Mitchard's DEEP END OF THE OCEAN fast-forwards to the Cappadora's family life 22 years after 3-year-old Ben's abduction and return 9 years later. Susan Denaker produces a breathtaking interpretation, beginning with the family's joy at the birth of Ben's daughter and at brother Vincent's win of an Academy Award for a documentary on families tortured by similar abductions. Denaker's expressive clarity shifts to all the appropriate emotions as the family's peace is shattered once again. Each character is distinctive with Denaker's steady yet emotional timbre. However, what is meant to be the brothers' Chicago twang more closely resembles a New Jersey accent. Nonetheless, Denaker's performance is entirely believable as the Cappadoras are once more tested beyond endurance. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 13, 2009
Mitchard returns to the Cappadoras from The Deep End of the Ocean
(Oprah's first book club pick), proving that, sometimes, sequels work. In this harrowing outing, set 13 years after the events of Ocean
, the oldest Cappadora son, Vincent, 29, has become a filmmaker, and with the help of his brother, Ben (who was kidnapped in the first book), and sister, Kerry, makes a documentary about child abduction. When the film is nominated for an Academy Award, the family is pushed into the scrutinizing eye of the public, and then tragedy strikes with the disappearance of Ben's daughter, plunging the family into a riveting ordeal that takes them from Hollywood to a grim, middle-of-nowhere confrontation. Along the way, family bonds are stretched to the breaking point, and Mitchard charts a tormented family dynamic with shocking ease. This action-packed and emotionally rich drama is every bit as satisfying as its predecessor.