The Last Time She Saw Him

Book excerpt: A reporter searching for her kidnapped son must untangle the connection to her brother’s long-ago disappearance in this “sharp, breathless thriller” (Lisa Jackson, #1 New York Times bestselling author). Thirty years ago, Julia Gooden’s nine-year-old brother Ben was abducted from their shared room. Though she’s tried to recall any clue about what happened, she has no memory of that terrible night. Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. Still, she lives in fear that whoever took her brother could come back. Nowhere seems safe—not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed. Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes. “A gripping story that I read in one night—I could not put it down.” —Debbie Howells, author of The Bones of You