Review # 23: Wanting June by Cindy Simon

Description:

     Crisis counselor Penny is willing to to brave Hell and high water to figure out what happened to her mother, June, who disappeared when Penny was a child. And what she finds is certainly hellish. Shocking family secrets are revealed, rivalries come to light, family members choose their sides, people get hurt, someone wants to keep June and her past hidden, and Penny and her father must decide whether they really want the truth; before June's fate becomes theirs.

Review:

     Wanting June by Cindy Simon was quite an intense and complicated mystery. In the beginning, I had trouble getting into the book's twisted plot-line because there were so many characters and relationships to consider. I never knew who was on Penny's side or who she could trust. The friends and family she was surrounded by felt very real, and at times very threatening. I often had to stop reading and think about what characters had said in previous chapters that could link to certain events because of the huge amount of detail the author presented at certain points. It wasn't hard to follow, but there was a lot of information to be garnered from each chapter; there was meaning in everything.

    The book was very well researched, but I felt that there could have been a little less detail and more attention to certain events and important conversations. The technique used to write this book was very interesting. I loved the language and the dialogue, especially Cindy Simon's use of metaphor and detail, which made the book even more enjoyable. The plot was action and mystery packed, one event began as soon as another ended, and I never knew what was to come. Even as I read the last chapter, I still hadn't discovered what really happened to June until the last couple of pages. This was a true suspense, laden with lies, love, deceit, pain, wanting, addiction, and the path one must take to find the truth, even when all hope seems lost. I applaud Cindy Simon on her first novel, an amazingly intricate and dark medical mystery!

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

*** I received this book from LibraryThing Member Giveaways in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.