The One I Left Behind - bookrastinating.com

Published Nov. 14, 2013 by William Morrow & Company.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-212255-1

From the New York Times bestselling author of Burntown and Promise Not to Tell comes a gut-wrenching thriller about a missing mother and the serial killer who returns twenty-five years later

The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of …

From the New York Times bestselling author of Burntown and Promise Not to Tell comes a gut-wrenching thriller about a missing mother and the serial killer who returns twenty-five years later

The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.

1 edition

Kadomi reviewed The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon

Review of 'The One I Left Behind' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This solid thriller was an entertaining quick read, yet nothing super-special I would wholeheartedly recommend to people.

The small town of Brighton Falls had nothing special, until a serial killer dubbed Neptune murdered several women in 1985, cutting off their right hands before strangling them. The last one to be abducted is Vera Dufrane, a former actress who's raising her daughter Reggie by herself. Cut to the year 2010, and Vera Dufrane is found alive, dying of cancer, the only survivor. Reggie brings her back to their hometown. But Vera's return also brings back Neptune, and soon another right hand is found...

The book has a solid amount of 80s nostalgia, as we get to experience the whole serial killer thing through the eyes of 13-year old Reggie, who has to find truths about her mother out the hard way.

The ending was alright, but didn't knock me off my …

This solid thriller was an entertaining quick read, yet nothing super-special I would wholeheartedly recommend to people.

The small town of Brighton Falls had nothing special, until a serial killer dubbed Neptune murdered several women in 1985, cutting off their right hands before strangling them. The last one to be abducted is Vera Dufrane, a former actress who's raising her daughter Reggie by herself. Cut to the year 2010, and Vera Dufrane is found alive, dying of cancer, the only survivor. Reggie brings her back to their hometown. But Vera's return also brings back Neptune, and soon another right hand is found...

The book has a solid amount of 80s nostalgia, as we get to experience the whole serial killer thing through the eyes of 13-year old Reggie, who has to find truths about her mother out the hard way.

The ending was alright, but didn't knock me off my socks.

Decent entertainment if you like stuff like this, nothing more, nothing less.