This was not the book for me. I didn't like the writing nor the story line. I have teenage daughters and the idea that 15 year are running around having sex with no one paying attention was depressing and frustrating.

I am building up to read this because it sounds creepy and maybe a little scary! Bring Her Home by David Bell . People are saying its “outstanding” and “gripping” and “shocking” which are all the words I like regarding a suspenseful novel!

Here’s the synopsis:

Just a year and a half after the tragic death of his wife, Bill Price’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, disappear. Days later, the girls are found in a city park. Haley is dead at the scene, while Summer is left beaten beyond recognition and clinging to life.

As Bill holds vigil over Summer’s bandaged body, the only sound the unconscious girl can make is one cryptic and chilling word: No. And the more time Bill spends with Summer, the more he wonders what happened to her. Or if the injured girl in the hospital bed is really his daughter at all.

When troubling new questions about Summer’s life surface, Bill is not prepared for the aftershocks. He’ll soon discover that both the living and the dead have secrets. And that searching for the truth will tear open old wounds that pierce straight to the heart of his family.

I am reading this one soon. It’s out right now so you can find it on Amazon or where ever you like to buy your books!

It isn't often anymore that I read a good mystery or thriller, not because I don't love them, because I do, but because for whatever reason, more often than not, they get forgotten about but when I saw the synopsis for Bring Her Home, I knew I needed to make the time for it. Not only was Bell a new to me author but reading a mystery to me lately, was as well. And isn't summer the most perfect time for a good mystery? Okay, when isn't a good time for a good mystery but I digress.

Bring Her Home turned out to be quite a refreshing read for me. Not only was it well written but it was also told through the point of view of Bill who not only lost his wife a few short years ago from the start of the novel, but like every parents worst nightmare, now has his daughter's whereabouts unknown to him.

What parent doesn't fear this very thing happening every single time our child leaves the house?

This book played on my emotions in so many ways and while I did figure out who the bad guy was very early on it was okay because so many other things happened along the way that I didn't see coming and those things, those horrifying and seriously mysterious things, kept me reading and turning the pages.

This really was a read that kept me guessing all the time on what could possible turn up next, knowing who the bad guy was or not and I loved that about it. It really was perfect for summer and kept me entertained all the way through.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: This is the second book I've read now by David Bell and the second book I've loved! He is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine - one I know I can rely on for a good mystery that will keep me engaged and hooked from start to finish with a unique story line and fresh, compelling characters.

This latest book from David Bell was without a doubt one of the best books I've read in a while in that it was uniquely written from the father's point of view and only told from his point of view. There were no other view points. Don't get me wrong - we still meet a whole cast of characters - just all from Bill's point of view - and this is just brilliant. It just makes sense as you read it. You feel his pain as he learns that his daughter is missing and then all that comes after. It's palpable...it's painful...it's raw...it's heartbreaking. You feel his grief, you feel his anger, you feel all his emotions as he deals with everything.

This book slowly pulls you in right from the start and doesn't let up until the very end. It's a roller coaster of a ride, believe me, as there are quite a few shocking twists that occur. And with the short chapters, you find yourself saying - oh just one more chapter, until you are at the end.

For the most part, this story is told linearly - it moves forward with little of the story going back in time. That's a bit refreshing for me, for as much as I do like dual narratives, it's nice to read a story that is just told straight forward!

I cannot wait to read more of David Bell's novels. I do have a few of his back list that I plan to read soon and of course, I will be anxiously awaiting his next novel...he is definitely on my auto-read list!!!

Bring Her Home by David Bell is a recommended thriller, highly for the right reader.

Bill Price's fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend Haley, have been found dumped in a park after they had disappeared days earlier. Haley is declared dead at the scene while Summer is in the hospital with severe life threatening injuries. This is just a year and a half after his wife and her mother died, so Bill is over-the-top distraught. As he talks to detectives at the hospital about Summer, hoping they can find out who did this, he is waiting to see if his daughter regains consciousness. Bill is a man on the edge.

This is a well-written novel told in quick, short chapters. The narrative is told from Bill's point-of-view. Bell provides several twists in Bring Her Home, but most of them were predictable and I didn't find myself surprised by any of them. Let me just say the plot twists are all ripped-from-the-headlines reveals and not entirely believable. I was still interested in the story, but I had guessed correctly what was going to happen at every turn. There was no suspense here for me. It is entertaining, though, and would make a good vacation read, especially with the short chapters and quick pace. I did finish Bring Her Home and generally liked it.

I guess the biggest issue I had with Bring Her Home is the character of Bill. His quick temper was very off-putting because it seems he is angry, very angry, all-the-time. You also know that he wants to hit/punch/blame someone almost all-the-time. It's not only that he comes across as a rather unsympathetic, unlikable fellow (and you want to like a grieving husband and father) it's that the violence is always so close to the surface that I never felt I could trust the man's emotions. He also repeats himself again and again and again. There are also a few other problems that I had that might not bother anyone reading causally for escapism and sheer entertainment.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Penguin Publishing Group.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/07/bring-her-home.html
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34350888-bring-her-home

Father (Bill) searches for missing 15 yo daughter (Summer). Was she kidnapped? Or, with her dead mother's birthday looming, did she run away, unable to handle her overwhelming emotions? What secrets has she been keeping from her father? Will she be found dead or alive?

Since (1) the premise was intriguing, and (2) I've heard good things about the author, I requested a copy from NetGalley and have been looking forward to reading it. Here are my thoughts ... If you're looking for a light, entertaining, beach read thriller, then this would fit the bill! If you're looking for a spine-tingling thriller, however, then I would not recommend this one. In my opinion, there wasn't enough character development (the father often threw toddler-like tantrums which got old quickly), and some of the plot twists were amateurish and unbelievable. For instance, the police identified a dead body using the ID located in a jacket pocket instead of double checking dental records, etc. I get that it was a small town, but really?!?

Overall, it was an entertaining read, but not one that will stay with me or that I would think to recommend. I have heard that the author's earlier works are better, so I would be willing try one more.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Bring Her Home is a typical thriller that starts with 2 missing girls, who turn up badly beaten in a local park. First, it's a case of how does a single father deal with knowing his only daughter survived a brutal attack while her best friend was killed. Then the twists start changing the plot entirely.
The problem is, that once the full plot is revealed, the reader already knows who must be responsible, and the reader starts questioning how a previous case involving the late wife of our single father was handled by the local police.
Unfortunately, a lot of Bring Her Home becomes non-remarkable for the genre. Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this light read.

Great story! Intense with twists that come out of nowhere! This book is very engaging and once you start reading you can't put it down until the very end! Highly recommend!

This book was a good read for a quick, escapist evening. The story held my attention and moved along at a good pace. I would definitely read another book by this author.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

It’s been a year since Bill’s wife died in a tragic accident at home, and now he’s living his worst nightmare. His daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, had gone missing. The girls were found days later in the park, beaten so badly their own families couldn’t recognize them. Summer is in a coma and Haley was dead when they found her. Bill knows they have a long road ahead of them with all that Summer’s recovery will entail. Summer may never be the same again, but Bill knows he’s the lucky one considering that Haley’s family is about to bury their daughter.

However, as time passes questions come to light and they discover the girl in that hospital bed isn’t Summer, but Haley! They have Summer’s body exhumed to be buried next to her mother and so that their family can say goodbye to her properly only to discover that it’s not Summer! One girl dead, and another severely injured, but neither are Bill’s daughter. That leaves them with many questions …. Where is Summer? Is she alive or dead? Who is the girl found dead in the park? And lastly, who hurt these girls and why?

Summer was all Bill had left and he won’t rest until he uncovers the truth, even if that truth may kill him, in the end.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! The storyline was intriguing and had enough twists to keep you guessing! Although I did figure out, who was responsible for Summer’s disappearance! But I didn’t have all the answers figured out and there was plenty of mystery to solve!

I did enjoy the book as I have already stated, but about halfway through the novel, I found it starting to drag a bit. I thought maybe the author had twisted the plot one too many times and the book became too easy to put down. Don’t give up on it though, I kept reading and was glad that I did! Besides you can’t leave the mystery unsolved no matter how much you think you know!

I found the characters in this story to be engaging and there are plenty suspects to consider, some of which seemed a little too obvious to be the guilty ones! I found the police detective to be way more patient and accommodating to Bill than any real cop would be, as he kept making mess after mess of his investigation! Bill is lucky he didn’t land himself in jail during his hunt for the truth, especially with that temper of his!

This was a really enjoyable read especially for mystery lovers and any parent can relate to the horrors held within these pages. With all that said, I’d happily read more from this author!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

I’m a reader that often balks at the old adage—don’t judge a book by its cover—and maybe I need to stop doing that in all instances. After seeing this gorgeous cover and having enjoyed two of David Bell’s previous novels, I wrongly assumed I was settling in for an entertaining read. Nope. Not even close.

Errors aside, which I hope for the sake of the author and the readers who purchase this book are corrected during the final editing process, this was a repetitive and overly-dramatized story of a girl that went missing and a father desperate to find those responsible.

When the story opens, Bill is sitting by his daughter Summer’s bedside, hoping against hope that she’ll open her eyes. Badly beaten and unconscious, she went missing two days earlier and turned up in a crime infested park, alongside her best friend who was dead. Sounds intriguing, right? Who could blame a dad for wanting to pinpoint the culprits and make them pay?

Turns out, Bill was one of my biggest issues with this story. Not only was he nonsensical and prone to flying off the handle at the most inopportune times, but his dialogue throughout the entire story was incredibly awkward and stilted. The conversations all of these characters shared lacked a natural ease. The overly dramatic tone wasn’t helping the situation any either. Add in the fact that Bill’s inner monologues were repetitive and he continuously regurgitated the same information to just about everyone he came in contact with and I was one unhappy reader.

My discontent was only further fueled by the “twist” that was thrown in prior to the start of Part II. I refuse to say anything further because I don’t want to risk ruining the story for anyone else, but it wasn't anything that I found to be exciting or plausible. In fact, I might have even rolled my eyes. David Bell put up a valiant effort—stringing the reader along with twists here and there—but it lacked heart and development. It felt like he took the easy way out one too many times.

If I haven’t complained enough already, let me throw in this last little tidbit—the author used the same plot device throughout the ENTIRE storyline and it started with these words, “I need to talk to you . . . ” I don’t think I've ever come across a cast of characters that so readily offered up their secrets and crimes as this one.

Overall, this was pretty much a complete miss for me, which I have to say, caught me off guard. Only time will tell if I’ll give this author another chance. Who knows, maybe he’ll suck me in with another pretty cover.

Bring Her Home was a slightly different read than my current reads. I thought a mystery/suspense/thriller would be a nice change of pace. The subject matter wasn't easy and I'm sure it holds specific triggers for some people. It didn't have any triggers for me, but there were certain aspects that made me kind of uncomfortable. Nothing was cringeworthy, in my opinion, just not really something I enjoy thinking about (I guess). It's hard to pin point exactly what it was.

On that note, there was something slightly "off" about Bring Her Home for me. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out, but I'm still not sure what the problem was for me. I know I wasn't thrilled with some of the situational reactions. The entire beginning of the book and how Bill reacted to everything that Summer had gone through bothered me. At first I wasn't sure why I was so bothered, but quickly realized it was because I know for a fact my own parents would not react the way Bill did. It didn't feel like he was genuinely reacting and I felt no investment in the story or characters. That's when I realized what the problem was. I didn't feel like I was in another world; I felt like was reading a book. Ultimately I did like it, but I didn't love it. It was definitely a personal opinion that I'm sure won't be shared by everyone (everyone's different).

3 out of 5 stars.

I did not finish this book. I read about 25% and just couldn't get into the story. The writing seemed very stiff to me and the story felt like something I had read before. I didn't find anything new or creative in this one. I will not be posting a review of this book.

I read a lot of mystery and thriller books (obviously!) so, when I come across one that impresses me, I feel like shouting from the rooftops. Bring Her Home, by David Bell, was one of those books that made me want to shout. Fast paced and entertaining, I found myself completely invested to our protagonist and his struggles.

The novel opens with Bill, a widower, facing every father’s worst nightmare. His fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer is missing (along with her best friend, Haley). Days later, the girls are found in the park. Haley is dead on the scene and Summer is badly beaten. Bill is left begging his daughter to fight for her life but also begins to wonder if he knows his daughter at all. As Bill searches for the truth, he discovers more than what he thought.

Instead of going for the gusto, Bell opens subtly and slowly draws his reader in. I felt instantly intrigued. From the first pages, Bell does a superb job at setting up lots of questions for the reader to continuously ask. I really loved this; when I read, I love to be active in my thought process trying to figure out the plot and where the author plans on going.

One of the other things I enjoyed was the plethora of twists in the middle of the novel. Especially since I am completely tired of the big, shocking, one moment twists that so many thrillers have these days. I felt like this made the story even more eerie and ominous because it felt so real; this truly could have been a story that could happen to anyone.

As for characterization, I felt like Bill was relatable and the story felt very real; I really appreciated that!

I was able to guess pretty early on parts of the resolution of the novel but Bell did bring in some complex details that I would never have guessed that amped up the ending for me.

Overall, I feel like fans of the “feels real” thriller will enjoy this novel; think authors like Mary Kubica. I absolutely relished in this one. 4/5 stars from me!

This novel made me feel a full gamut of emotions: fear, hope, sadness, grief, love and happiness. I connected with it and really enjoyed the story.

Bill's wife dies tragically, in an accident falling off a ladder. A year and a half later, his daughter and her best friend are found beaten - his daughter practically comatose, her friend, dead - both beaten beyond recognition. As he digs further to try and catch whoever put his daughter in such a predicament, he learns more than he ever wanted to know.

This is my second Bell book and I just LOVE his writing style. While I usually like faster paced books, I find myself FLYING through his pages because he is SO good at keeping your interest even with a slower, suspense building format. How does he do this? His impeccable way of building the characters - you REALLY get inside the head of the main character, in this case, Bill. You get maddened when he gets maddened, you cry inside when his grief gets to be too much, you're basically a ball of emotion on a dark roller coaster, being guided to who knows where.

If you read as many thriller books as I do, the big reveal can be tough and can be figured out pretty readily because really, just how many different scenarios can someone bring about that's original? David Bell doesn't do this, however, and it's quite refreshing. There are two reveals just within the first half of the book... which hooks you in because you're thinking just what ELSE will surprise me. Sometimes it's about the journey rather than the conclusion, no?

Basically, he is now a definitely auto buy author for me. Give me more Bell! Even for those of you who like the faster plot, I think you should do yourself a favor and get into these if you haven't had a tasting of his work yet.

Bill Price is a first and foremost a father who is worried about his daughter. As a parent, I get that. Nonetheless, his character was hard to relate to at times. He is quick to make assumptions about people and events, without evidence and without taking time to consider all the possibilities. This leads him to act rashly, interfering at times with the police investigation. I really liked his sister, Paige, who comes to stay with him and offer moral support. She has good instincts, she is sensible, and helps balance out his somewhat erratic behavior.
The plot is intricate, with an abundance twists and turns. Although some of the twists were unexpected, I found a few to be quite predictable. Some aspects of the story lacked credibility, nonetheless, the novel was definitely intriguing enough to hold my attention to the very end. Like Bill, I had to know what had happened to Summer.

Great book! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

Publishing this review a day after the actual novel's publication date, I asked for this book from Netgalley with all my positve vibes. But this isn't the thriller that I was waiting for, neither the one I was excpeting.

In a little city where nothing happens, two fifteen years old girls, Summer and Haley, disapper. Bill, Summer's father, is the protagonist of the case that since from the start it's presented as dark and sad.
Since the death of his wife Julia, the relationship with Summer isn't great anymore, the bond between father and daughter ruined.
His hopes are near zero when two bodies are recovered. One girl is alive, the other is dead. But nothing looks like it should be.

When I review a thriller, usually I prefer to focus my attenttion onto the plot and the surprise. That's include the thrille, the mistery, the plot twist and so. I've never been able to connect emotinally with a thriller's protagonist/character, so I try my best to analizy them anyway without scoffing off or non taking them into consideration.
Bring Her Home didn't strike me.

The style is simple, the pages flow, the book can be read easily and fast, the reader will probably go on and on reading until the end.
Yet something is missing.

As I wrote before, I'm not exactly the type who can fully empathize with thriller's protagonists, yet Bill is a father and his daughter is lost. His feeling should be strong, should be able to reach me anyway, but it didn't happen. I could understand his struggle and at the same time I felt really distant. For some details I could feel his way of think and act. Bill is a really impulsive man and his rush to find more clue that will lead him to Summer is totally undertendable, even if sometimes he doesn't act like a wise man.

What killed me off was the whole plot. When I read a thriller I want suspance. I don't want to guess the killer at half book.
Basically, I guessed immediattly how the book was going to end - whit the minumum doubt of a sad or happy ending - and that was a total bummer.
Novel's paragraphs and blurb didn't help the mystery to remain hidden.

In total honesty, I don't feel to suggest to this book otherwise the reader searching for a light thriller to read during summertime without getting too much tangled inside a big and confusing mystery, and yet managing to enjoy a simple and pleasant prose.

Bill Price is in the middle of a parent’s worst nightmare. His teenage daughter, Summer, is missing. She’s been gone for several days with her best friend, Haley. No one has seen or heard from either girl. Then, Haley is found dead in the park. Summer has been beaten to a pulp and been left for dead. Bill stays by Summer’s side in the hospital, willing her to wake up.

It’s been less than two years since Bill’s wife’s death. During that time, he and his daughter have drifted apart. He really has no clue what has been going on in her life. He wonders what Summer could have been involved in. When the police take too long in catching who did this, he takes matters into his own hands.

The storyline is one of those "ripped right out of a newspaper headline". The characters and plot are realistic - perhaps a bit too realistic for comfort. There were times I thought Bill’s interference with the police would hinder their investigation, but at the same time, I understood his frustration in not knowing what happened to his daughter. Or if she would live or die.

Talk about a page-turner, this novel was that and more. I could not stop reading late into the night. There were more twists and turns than I ever expected. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was completely wrong and totally shocked when I got to the last page.

It’s an extremely fast-paced book that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The chapters are short which makes it even easier to keep reading to the end.

I have never read anything by this author before, but I certainly will from now on. I will check out his backlist too. I love discovering “new-to’me” authors.