Standing Still

STANDING STILL is a riveted novel, from first word to last. It flows so well from the chilling opening to the gripping conclusion that it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I highly recommend it!

The first thing that should be said about this book is that it is the most impressive debut novel I have read in a long time. Kelly Simmons' writing is riveting, the prose and the story captivating. In the opening pages, Claire Cooper, alone in the house while her husband is away on one of his constant business trips, hears sounds she cannot identify coming from the one of the upstairs bedrooms where her three children, four, five and seven years old, lie sleeping. When she enters one of the bedrooms, she is horrified to see an intruder with her daughter in his arms. Her instinct is what nearly any mother's would be: she tells him "Take me. Take me instead." And he does exactly that. The reader feels her anguish during the ensuing days, as her nightmare plays out. She spends the following week tied to a bed in a motel, her abductor her only companion. She refers to him throughout as simply "Him." Claire is now a reporter for a local station, having worked all over the globe before her marriage to Sam, who co-owns a successful p.r./marketing business. Her history is, as she describes it, one of leaving without saying goodbye, whether it is a string of lovers or therapists. She suffers from an acute panic disorder, frequently all but disabling, and her Xanax bottle is never far away. Reflecting on her past before her marriage, she says: "I believed I was in control. I didn't see that I was wasting my youth and grace, doling it out as if it would regenerate. I didn't know at twenty what I knew at forty: that powers of seduction slow to a trickle. Until one day you go into the city in a perfect-fitting pair of jeans, get your hair highlighted, and when you walk back to your car no one's head turns. No, I didn't know I was perishable. But once I figured it out, the world conspired to move up my expiration date. It swatted at me daily with small swords--floods and heights and confined spaces and shadows and creaking floors. Things no one else saw. The pathetic world according to Claire." Interspersed between scenes before and after the kidnapping are reflections of past days, going back to Claire's childhood, as captured in photos she remembers. But Sam and Claire, it appears, both have secrets. The book is all about, to quote the author again, "the things you don't see coming." Kelly Simmons has a completely fresh voice, and has written a novel of breathtaking originality. Highly recommended.

Standing Still by Kelly Simmons is a gripping, "can't put it down", "can't wait to get back to it" book. What a debut book! I can't wait for the next one! Standing Still is about a mother who is encounters a stranger in her daughter's bedroom and says to him, "take me." He does. What follows is an interesting glimpse into the life of a wife and mother, who clearly, on the edge, could be any wife and mother who has left her "high-powered" careeer behind, who clearly lacks attention from her husband, who is feeling the day to day grind of caring for childrena and the awesome responsibility of motherhood. From start to finish this book is believable, interesting, and insightful and most important, well-written. If you like a great mystery with some twists and turns, you are going to love this book. The author's insight into motherhood and marriage are the icing on the cake. This is the best best mystery I've read in a long time. Don't miss it! It Gets Easier!: And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers

Our book group chose "Standing Still" for our February selection. We want more Kelly Simmons! Simmons had us from the first sentence and her skillful use of pace kept us engaged all the way through to the uncompromising ending. The plot was unpredictible and intricately woven. We couldn't put it down and savored each well crafted - but not over written - chapter. Our consensus is that it will make a great movie that we'd each love to see.

You will feel the intense rush of this book from the moment you start. It was one of those wonderful reading experiences where you are propelled forward by the artful prose and the desire to truly understand the main character, Claire. Claire is intriguing, fearful, witty, brave, and edgy. That she possesses such an amalgam of qualities you can relate to is what makes the reading experience so spirited. This book is more than just a thriller about an ordinary woman in an extraordinary circumstance. The book's real power is showcasing how we can manage our fears by immersing ourselves in them. The writing is superb, with a tempo that keeps you wanting more. I can't wait to read more from this author - she has crafted the kind of characters you won't soon forget.