Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Annie is wrapping up an open house when she is abducted. Thrown into a van and taken to a strange cabin in the woods somewhere, she doesn't know where she is or anything about the man who is holding her captive. What she does know is that she must stay alive as long as possible in order for police to find her. A year later she survives, but only through a strength she wasn't sure she possessed. Told through sessions with her psychiatrist, Annie will relive that terrible time in her life. And with the help of a handsome detective, will figure out why and how this happened to her.

WOW is this book ever disturbing. I sometimes wonder about the mental health of the authors who write books like these- seriously, how could someone normal come up with such vile situations? Horrible images aside, however, and this book was incredible. The first half of the book is Annie talking about her time with The Freak, the man who abducted her. This was by far the hardest part of the book to read. I had to physically put the book down and walk away after each chapter. Go listen to a happy song or something just so I could go right back to the book and dive into the terror again. But the second part of the book was much better, as Annie is safe and learning to cope in the real world again. Chevy Stevens is an amazing writer, and her decision to tell the story through Annie's psychiatrist sessions couldn't have worked better. I found myself getting mad at Annie when she was weak, and cheering her on when she was strong. Unfortunately, when the big reveal at the end was finally unleashed, I felt it was slightly anti-climactic. Compared to all of the guesses I had in my head, the actually ending was not nearly as powerful. But the end certainly did not take away from the rest of the book.

Stevens is currently working on her next book, but Still Missing is one I will not soon forget.

Overall Rating: 5 Stars