The Day I Died

February 6, 2017
At the start of this compelling novel of psychological suspense from Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Rader-Day (Little Pretty Things), handwriting analyst Anna Winger agrees to assist the Parks, Ind., sheriff in the hunt for a missing child. She does so reluctantly, since she suspects that the mother was trapped in an abusive marriage and may have escaped with her young son. If that’s the case, Anna isn’t sure she wants the mother and boy found. Anna knows about living with violence—she has been hiding from her abusive boyfriend for years, ever since she learned that she was pregnant and was forced to fake her own death to escape. Anna and her now-teenage son, Joshua, have moved every few years. When Joshua goes missing, Anna must examine everything she thought she knew—and confront the demons from her past. Beautiful prose and tack-sharp observations round out this slow-burning but thought-provoking meditation on the ravages of domestic violence. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management.

Anna Winger, consultant to the FBI and various police departments, can identify people's personality traits and even their secrets from their handwriting. Hillary Huber narrates this story of lies that hide emotional and domestic abuse. Huber captures the personalities of the diverse characters, who are full of grit and determination, especially the women. Anna is haunted by her past, and by memories best kept hidden from everyone. When her son, Joshua, runs away, Anna follows the clues to her hometown, as does Sheriff Russ Keller. Huber portrays Anna in tones full of emotion and insecurity. Huber's smoky voice is perfect for this carefully unfolding psychological thriller. M.B.K. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

February 1, 2017

Handwriting analyst Anna Winger has been on the run for 13 years, after fleeing with her unborn son from an abusive relationship. Shortly after moving to Parks, IN, she is called in to examine a ransom note connected to a missing boy and his dead nanny. She can't help but sympathize with the boy's mother, the presumed kidnapper, because she sees glimpses of her own former life after meeting the boy's volatile father. Facing skepticism from the sheriff's office and a case that hits too close to home, Anna can't help but investigate well beyond her normal involvement. When her own son disappears and her personal life starts to crumble, Anna has to balance her longstanding desire for privacy with her need for help in order to get him back. Only by coming to terms with her own dark past will she be able to find her son, and possibly the missing boy, too. Handwriting analysis offers an unusual angle to this absorbing novel, and Anna's strong powers of observation add dimension to the tension-filled narrative. VERDICT Mary Higgins Clark Award winner Rader-Day's (Little Pretty Things) third novel will thrill readers who can't get enough of the psychological suspense genre. [See Prepub Alert, 10/24/16.]--Emily Byers, Salem P.L., OR

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2016

When handwriting expert Anna Winger is asked to evaluate a ransom note after a kidnapping in her new hometown, she wonders whether the culprit is the kidnapped child's mother, desperate to protect him from an abusive father. After all, Anna did the same. Rader-Day's The Black Hour won multiple best first novel awards, and Little Pretty Things won a Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.