Still Missing

For starters, I almost never write reviews. I went into this book with 2 of Karin Slaughter's books being my favorites. (False Witness and The Good Daughter) and I've found my new favorite! The detail and content can be heavy, but I think this book is beautifully written and an exceptional story.

This is one of those books you will want to read page after page to see just what happens to Annie. It is a story that could be so real and does happen to women. But we never really hear about them. She has no choice but to do as she is commanded to do. Through the entire book she does what ever she can o remain sane. The Mother will shock you to no end. Get ready for a great book.

This was the first book I've read by Chevy Stevens. I absolutely loved the way it was written. I couldn't put this book down.

I liked this book. I have read from this author before and she writes really well.

I picked up this book to help me get out of a reading slump and I was not expecting it to become my new favorite book. This book was so well written it will have you feeling like you are actually in it with the use of all the detailed imagery it will have you completely immersed! Not only that, but the character development and twist at the end just have to be pointed out too. (No spoilers will be included btw) Through out every session I loved how the main character, Annie, becomes more and more open and verbal about her situation. I love that we get to experience her overcome her fears and paranoia with every session. By the end of the book I felt so proud of how far she has come despite all the tragic things she had to go through. NOW. For the twist at the end...IT WAS CRAZY. I thought I had it all planned out but NO. I was completely wrong and was not expecting that ending at all!! It truly had me shocked. For the last couple of sessions I could not put this book down I wanted to get to the truth! This book had one of the craziest plot twists of all time! I highly recommend this book to anyone reading this review. You will not regret picking it up.

Selected the book based on NY Times recommendation and suspense theme. Didn't realize it would involve brutality and physical torture. Didn't finish and so glad I didn't spend what others did for the book. Author would best spend royalties with a competent therapist.

I this is one of my all time favorites now & had some great twists.

The whole book was written so well and kept you wanting to read and draw you in. The end was a plot twist for me and I was shocked. It has been the best book that I have read in a long time.

I loved this book. Had a hard time putting it down. I thought I had it figured out and then at the end I was surprised. Enjoyed the book from beginning to end!

Your only lucky once in awhile to come across a book like this. Every spare moment I had my nose was buried in this book. You actually feel like you are the character. I have never read this author before, but, now she's my favorite. Can't wait to read another book by her.

This is the best book I have read in YEARS! It is so well written that you feel like you are on this awful journey with the main character. I had to put the book down a few times because it is so intense. I love books that really make you feel and this one does just that. Im buying all the other books by this author now!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!

This book is so well written. I have developed a love for this author. This book takes you on a journey, that at times seems like you are right there living it. The character development and the storyline are amazing. I highly recommend this book!

THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW! I've been waiting for months for Still Missing to be released. With all of the advance press and buzz it has been generating, people have been writing tons of reviews containing intimate story details that I didn't want to hear about before reading the book, and I've found it very difficult to keep forcing myself not to read them. So I won't do that to you in this review. What is commonly known about Still Missing is that it is focused around Annie, a Realtor, who is abducted while running an open house. When I started the book, I expected the entire story to be about the abduction, her survival, and eventual escape. I was wrong. The abduction, and her survival through it (and being that the book is written in the first person as Annie talks to her therapist, the fact that she survives is no secret) is only half of the book. It's the vivid and introspective view into what happens to Annie AFTER the abduction, including some completely unexpected plot twists, where the story gets interesting. Annie is a raw person. The author has spent a great deal of time developing Annie's psychology and internal thought processes, and this is shared with the reader, making Annie a three-dimensional person with real feelings and a real life. She says what is on her mind, and she doesn't hold back. She has the ability to utilize language you would expect of a truck driver, and uses it as she sees fit. But she is not crude - she is a sharp-witted, intelligent, smart-mouthed survivor whose brilliant comebacks often had me laughing out loud. I fell in love with Annie, her damaged psyche notwithstanding. Still Missing is told in the first person, and the reader really gets to feel as though they are a part of Annie's mind. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew her as a real person. For these horrible things to be happening to someone who I felt I knew, was almost unbearable. And that's the beauty of Still Missing. Yes, there are some grisly details - there has to be, in order for the reader to be able to understand Annie's justifications, and realize the true horror of the situation. However, these are masterfully intermixed with different, saner events within the story's timeline, filling out the background story and the characters involved. This gives the reader a rest from the horror - but that doesn't mean that you won't be blindsided around the next corner! Eventually the flashback timeline joins the present day timeline, and just when you think you've got the story figured out, and are expecting things to wind down - some totally unexpected plot twists are thrown your way. Annie's adaptation to these plot twists make for my favorite part of the story - they really show what she is truly made of. Still Missing is publicized as being "unputdownable" and this statement is truth in advertising. I could not put down this book, I HAD to know what was going to happen next. Practically everywhere you look, popular summer

I'd forgotten the great feeling a reader gets when she/he picks up a novel and is treated to a fresh, original story and a unique point of view to the narrative. This suspense thriller by Chevy Stevens is fresh, original, and quite possibly the best novel of this genre that I've read for a very long time. Real estate agent Annie O'Sullivan is abducted from an open house by a man she refers to as The Freak. She is held prisoner for nearly a year in a remote mountain cabin and subjected to physical and mental abuse. Her story is told within the framework of 26 sessions that she has with a psychiatrist after she escapes. Without going into further details that might spoil the story, Annie finds that her return to home, family, and friends is fraught with difficulty. She feels that she is "still missing" to them and to herself because of the horrific experiences she had while with her captor. Annie is an unforgettable protagonist and her journey of reintegration is at times terrifying and often heartbreaking. The other characters in the book were well developed and the plot line moved beyond the predictable to a surprise ending that really makes the heroine even more sympathetic. I found this to be a book that I didn't want to put down. Recommendation -- buy this one and enjoy a satisfying and suspenseful thriller.

If I could give Still Missing more than 5 stars, I would. I was so spellbound upon finishing the book that I had a hard time articulating what made it so great. It was an incredibly written psychological rollercoaster that demanded my full attention and lingered long after I put it down. All that Annie went through, from her abduction, captivity, recovery and everything after were so entrancing. I enjoyed the device that the author used having Annie narrate during her sessions with her shrink. As she became more comfortable relating her experiences, the more she revealed her anger, trauma and helplessness. The depiction of her abductor and the year she spent with him was blatantly disturbing. But this book is so much more than her painful experiences of rape, deprivation and abuse. The entire second half deals with Annie's recovery, the investigation and the shocking revelation that she must come to terms with. Just when I thought her endeavor was coming to an end, the layers peeled back to expose more unsettling aspects to the crime. This was an extraordinary debut that delivered great characters, writing, and above all else, an absorbing story.

It's really hard to believe this is a debut novel. It's one of those novels that completely takes you out of your own world, and its 340 pages flew by for me in one sitting. It is horrifying, at times to the point that I wanted to step away, but I found that I couldn't because the story was far, far too gripping to put down. It details Annie O'Sullivan's account of her yearlong captivity at the hands of a psychopath. The story is told in bits and pieces through her sessions with her therapist; it flashes between her captivity and her life upon returning home. Initially it seems the worst is over once Annie is safe at home, but the story is only just beginning. It's a roller coaster ride of twists and turns, but it never has the "saw that coming miles away" element that some suspense fiction has. It's always engaging, and often surprising. As others have noted, there are difficult parts to the book that, for me, were quite traumatizing to read. That I felt traumatized by them seems a testimony to the power of Stevens' writing-- we don't just observe Annie's experiences, we live through them with her in a very visceral way. As a side note, as a therapist I often cringe when novelists attempt to inject psychology into their stories and miss the mark. But I was quite impressed at Stevens' grasp of psychology, particularly the impact of trauma. She did her homework, and the result is a powerful psychological portrait of a broken, but incredibly strong, young woman. This is a great, intelligent thriller-- just don't read it when you're home alone.

Still Missing / 978-0-312-59567-8 Annie O'Sullivan is trying to put her life back together since the year of hell she spent captive in the mountains in the hands of a controlling psychopath, but every day she feels closer to the edge, completely ready to snap from the fear, grief, guilt, and horror that she lives with. Finally, she's decided that she needs help and is seeking professional counseling in order to tell her story for the first time. And yet, the story she is telling may not be completely finished: the case is far from closed, and the police are beginning to believe that she may still be in danger... I cannot praise this book enough - debut author Stevens skillfully weaves a story of utter horror as we follow Annie through her year of captivity, and through the days that follow as she tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Annie is the perfect protagonist as the reader will almost certainly identify instantly with her - having seen the occasional episode of "CSI" and "Law & Order", she intellectually knows all the things an abducted woman "should" do, and yet faced with the impossibility of her situation, she finds that all she really *can* do is just hold on and survive. Rarely have I seen a female protagonist characterized so fully and completely as a strong, vulnerable, realistic woman caught in an utterly impossible situation, and Stevens should be congratulated for so thoroughly and carefully characterizing Annie to the point where every pain inflicted on her is felt acutely by the reader. If this were just a story of mentally reliving a year of captivity whilst trying to pick up the pieces back home, it would still be powerful and compelling enough to deserve a read, but in the second half, Stevens ratchets up the pace with a hair-raising investigation that keeps the reader constantly on the edge of their seat as they wonder, with Annie, whether her captivity was just the most monumental bad luck, or if she was chosen for a reason...and if she might still be in danger. As Annie, and the reader, struggle to sort out PTSD-induced paranoia from the emerging facts, Stevens carefully doles out more and more delightful tension and anticipation, up to the final, absolutely soul-searing conclusion. I cannot think of anything to criticize about this novel. Annie's mental state after her captivity is realistic, and treated with intelligence, sympathy, and dignity. Her personality contains realistic and endearing flaws, and Stevens shows a shrewd understanding in creating sympathetic characters who can be mistaken, incorrect, or outright wrong without invalidating their inherent value as people. The supporting characters - the best friend, the boyfriend, the mother, the investigator, and even the abductor - are all beautifully and carefully fleshed out, and it is a true delight to read a novel entirely populated with well-crafted, three-dimensional characters. In the end, all you really need to know is that I finished