Overwrought Drama

While under her mother's supervision, three year old Emma disappears. Two years later Emma is still gone. Her Mother, Megan, hasn't been able to recover. She spends her time putting together "stranger danger" seminars for schools and organizing supervision for children who walk home. She also mistakes other little girls for Emma. Her husband, Peter, shames Megan for "seeing" Emma in other children. He wants Megan to focus on the present and their two other children. The novel quickly shifts and then alternates to the story of an elderly couple struggles to raise their granddaughter, Emme amongst the grandmother's declining health.

I am afraid I am in the minority on this one. I thought this book was only OK. I was expecting more of a mystery. Any mystery Holmes had, she gives away pretty quickly on in the story. There isn't really a plot other than waiting for the characters to uncover the "secret" that the reader already guessed. Holmes replaces suspense with repeated heart wrenching scenes illustrating the damage that Emma's kidnapping has afflicted on Megan's family. The story of a kidnapped child is pretty relatable for any parent, so the dozens of scenes underscoring the repercussions of this tragedy are unnecessary. I felt beat over the head with sad scenes. The marital tension seemed contrived and never fully fleshed out. A typical argument:

Peter: You need to move on from Emma's kidnapping!
Megan: I will never give up on Emma! (bursts into tears).

Ok, maybe that's a facile transcription of an argument. But they had multiple arguments to this effect and that's how they began to feel. I wanted to say: Megan, honey, if your husband's idea of being supportive is to encourage you to move past your daughter's tragic kidnapping while flirting with his attractive business partner, you may want to move past your marriage. I mean it's only been two years. But do try and acknowledge your other kids, just once and a while. He has a small point there.

Another thing that bothered me was several sub-plots that never went anywhere. I kept reading hoping they would go somewhere, but they didn't. I now see that maybe they will be picked up in the author's companion novella or the sequel. Inexplicably, I am tempted to purchase both of these? Maybe I am still hoping to uncover the novel I intended to read. AS of today, I have not purchased either.

Another note: I got a deal on the audio version via Whisphersync. The narrator baby talks Emma's lines. While I have no problem with a narrator who performs characters, I have never heard an adult do a good rendition of a small child's voice. This is a pet peeve of mine, and is so grating, if Emma had more lines, I would not have been able to listen to the audio version.

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4 people found this helpful

Sweet and sad.

It's a heart breaking story but sometimes we all need a good cry and I definitely got that from Finding Emma. i enjoyed the book overall.

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1 person found this helpful

Engaging Drama that will Tug at Your Heartstrings

This is a pretty intense drama (more so for parents, I imagine), but it was very engaging and the characters were well developed. I couldn't wait to see what happened, and I was not disappointed. I'm looking forward to starting the next book.

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1 person found this helpful

Concision needed

There is too much padding and repeating. With concision it would have been a great 3 hour book.

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Find Emma, and fall in love

Finding Emma is at times heartwarming and heartrending. It’s a story that will burrow its way into your soul and leave you longing to learn more about this little girl.

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beautifully performed

this is a beautifully performed heart wrenching story. A mother's love that never quits. Love!

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A lovely story

I enjoyed the story immensely, it was well written, flowed nicely and had engaging characters. The narrator gave a marvelous performance. I highly recommend this book.

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Awful

Boring. Just terrible. Don’t bother. I never leave reviews but I thought I might help spare someone from this drivel.

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Loved it c

A story that seemed so real , I would definitely recommend this book. The narrator was good

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Loved it!!

It was heart wrenching at times, but sweet & loving at others. I understand Megan’s quest to find her daughter, I would do the same (it was her baby girl). Great book!

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