Found, Near Water

Rena Sutherland wakes from a coma into a mother’s nightmare. Her daughter is missing – lost for four days – but no one has noticed; no one has complained; no one has been searching. As the victim support officer assigned to her case, Christine Emmett puts aside her own problems as she tries to guide Rena through the maelstrom of her daughter’s disappearance. A task made harder by an ex-husband desperate for control; a paedophile on early-release in the community; and a psychic who knows more than seems possible. And intertwined throughout, the stories of six women; six daughters lost. A gripping, dark and harrowing tale that is all too believable.

Full review Friday, I loved this one!!!! Five stars and was totally captivated! Hayton tells a tremendous story.

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Found, Near Water by Katherine Hayton Katherine Hayton Publication: 7/2/2014 eBook; 214 pages ISBN-13: 9780473279936 http://www.kathay1973.com/

Rena Sutherland wakes from a coma to discover her daughter's been missing for days. No one's noticed, no one's complained, no one's searching. The victim support officer assigned to her case, Christine Emmett puts aside her own problems as she tries to guide Rena through the maelstrom of her daughter's disappearance. A task made harder by an ex-husband desperate for control; a paedophile on early-release in the community; and a psychic who knows more than seems possible. And flowing beneath everything is a crime - perpetrated across generations - pulling them into its wake.

My Thoughts:
Found, Near Water by Katherine Hayton is a highly recommended, well-paced mystery/crime novel set in New Zealand.

As a former psychiatrist, Christine Emmett should be the best victim support counselor around, but as the leader and member of a support group for women who have lost daughters, she is dealing with past trauma of her own that is still playing havoc with her life. When DSS Erik Smith of the Christchurch Police Department contacts her to talk to Rena Sutherland as her victim support officer, he really wants her to decipher the truth. Rena has woken up in the hospital after a car accident and wants to know where her daughter, Chloe, is. The trouble is that no one saw her daughter and the police aren't even sure they really believe she has a daughter. Once Christine determines that Rena is telling the truth, there is a mad scramble to look for her daughter. It's been days since the accident and so the trail is cold.

Interspersed between chapters are the stories of Terry, Ilene, Kendra, and Joanne, the 4 members of Christine's support group who have all endured the disappearance or death of their daughters. Adding to the tension is a known pedophile who has been released from prison, Rena's controlling ex-husband, and a psychic who claims to know where Chloe can be found.

Found, Near Water was a riveting read for me. I found all the characters well developed and believable. You never know exactly what trauma a personal tragedy can extract on an individual's emotional health. The individual stories are powerfully written and emotionally charged. It makes the search for Chloe even more urgent and also more difficult for Christine to watch since she is still suffering from her own tragedy. The ending was not predictable and actually a surprise for me, which is nice. As a bonus, I rather enjoyed the New Zealand setting.

My Kindle edition was courtesy of Katherine Hayton for review purposes.

Every parent’s worst nightmare is coming true in Rena Sutherland’s life. She awakes in a hospital to find her daughter has been missing for four days. Victim Support Officer is assigned to Rena and is doing her best to help, but an angry ex husband, a pedophile and a savvy psychic muddy the waters, putting everyone on edge

This book is one of those that I loved more and more as I kept reading. I admit at the start I was a touch unsure and was a bit confused by the many character introductions but I soon found my groove and the plot and pace of the book began to really take off.

Rena Sutherland wakes from a coma into a mother’s nightmare. Her daughter is missing – lost for four days – but no one has noticed; no one has complained; no one has been searching.

As the victim support officer assigned to her case, Christine Emmett puts aside her own problems as she tries to guide Rena through the maelstrom of her daughter’s disappearance.

A task made harder by an ex-husband desperate for control; a paedophile on early-release in the community; and a psychic who knows more than seems possible.

And intertwined throughout, the stories of six women; six daughters lost.

This is not your typical crime novel, although it does indeed involve the police, forensics, missing persons and the search for a killer(s). It's different because of the intense human element we see as well from the women that are all connected by a support group set up in the local community for those women who have lost a child. They are interlinked by grief, loss, and unfinished business.

As a massive hunt ensues to the relief of a frantic mother who struggled to have the police believe her daughter was stolen from her and the plot is taut, chilling at times and I could not stop reading, feeling the desperation of this mother wanting to find her child. I am a mother, I got it! I felt close to tears and panic too. It was harrowing.

A psychic offers help to the investigation and to the surprise of all those doubting her she does help lead them to some clues. There are some fantastic twists in the plot, things I did NOT see coming that just amazed me and I really felt were very clever.

All the characters are believable and intriguing. The location, set in New Zealand was extremely atmospheric and ideal to the overall book in my opinion. With plenty of suspense and intrigue, I enjoyed this read especially once the police case started to pick up traction and things were revealed bit by bit. I was blown away.

You will not imagine for a second the final outcome and how powerful it is. It was a stunning ending to a very clever book.