Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟💫 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟💫 Spice: N/A

by Liz Moore – Thank you, @prhaudio for the #gifted audiobook of this hot summer read. I was so happy to buddy read with @onebookeachweek – Katie has such honest, insightful reviews.

TLDR: A whole bunch of lives and reputations were ruined due to shitty law enforcement and toxic masculinity.

Spanning from 1950-1975 and told in a non-linear fashion, we follow along as family, friends, and law enforcement search for two missing children, siblings who disappeared from the same area 15 years apart. The non-linear storytelling approach adds a layer of mystery and intrigue to the narrative, as it allows the reader to piece together the events and understand the characters’ motivations over time. Moore tells three stories of three children whose lives will never be the same – A naive eighteen-year-old pressured into a marriage with a man over a decade older in the 1950s, a young boy who disappeared without a trace in the 1960s, and a teenager who vanished from her camp bunk in 1975. These three stories are tied together and built from a series of secrets and lies over decades. 

There was a lot to enjoy about this book, and I thought the 1975 story was gripping. There were a lot of character POVs, and a non-linear format was an exciting way to bring readers along slowly. I did struggle with feeling like many of the characters got off easy for their actions while others suffered unspeakable pain. This book is a good reminder about the rights women have now and the things we take for granted that women didn’t have in the period the story is set. Things like opening your checking account, refusing to have sex with your husband, having your credit card, having recourse for workplace sexual harassment, divorce for spousal abuse, keeping your job if you are pregnant, talking directly to one’s doctor…the list goes ON and ON.

Although I enjoyed the audiobook narration, the numerous characters, and the non-linear timeline were complicated to keep track of in that format. I found myself regularly referencing my print copy to make sure I understood where I was in the story.