Lane Fielding swore that she would never return to her hometown. Twenty years later, after a bitter divorce has she no other choice but to return home with her two daughters. Now she works in the local bar and living with her daughter and her parents on the historic Fielding Plantation. She's haunted by the past, the alleged sinister crimes by her father who once was the director of an infamous boy's school. There is a partial event from childhood that Lane has long tried to forget, but the past will soon catch up with her. And, it all starts with the disappearance of Susannah, a young girl...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION! ( )

Lane Fielding swore that she would never return to her hometown. Twenty years later, after a bitter divorce has she no other choice but to return home with her two daughters. Now she works in the local bar and living with her daughter and her parents on the historic Fielding Plantation. She's haunted by the past, the alleged sinister crimes by her father who once was the director of an infamous boy's school. There is a partial event from childhood that Lane has long tried to forget, but the past will soon catch up with her. And, it all starts with the disappearance of Susannah, a young girl...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION! ( )

Lane Wallace -- well, Lane Fielding again since her divorce is final -- has moved back home to Waddell, FL with her two daughters. She swore she would never come back, but her divorce forced her to return. She's living with her parents at the Fielding Mansion, the house she grew up in. Reporters still arrive, blocking the driveway, bothering Lane at work, bothering her teenage daughter....they will do anything to dredge up more facts about her father, and the rumors of violent abuse of boys at the reform school he ran until 3 years ago. It's not just about abuse....some of the boys disappeared. People in town have taken sides. Some say Neil Fielding couldn't have done the things he's accused of. And others believe he's a monster. Waddell residents are still riled up about the reform school rumors when a Florida university student disappears after volunteering at the mansion. Then Lane's oldest daughter Annalee disappears. Maybe returning to Florida was a really, really bad idea. Lane will have to confront a web of lies and family secrets to discover what happened to Susannah, her own daughter, and the boys who disappeared from her father's reform school.

Wow -- once I started reading this story I couldn't put the book down! Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character. Usually I don't really care for that sort of jumping around, but in this case, it worked. The shifting from one character to another heightened the suspense and really kept me guessing about what was going on until the very end. The story developed at a nice pace, and there were plenty of twists and surprises. I really enjoyed this story! The ending was perfect. Very well done!

Lori Roy has written several other books. I'm definitely going to read more.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Penguin via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

First off I would like to thank Dutton for my hardcover copy. I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

I hate to say this, but I hated absolutely everything about this book. ( )

This book is a pretty good read but the ending kind of fell flat for me.

I received a copy courtesy of The First To Read program. ( )