A Matter Of Chance by Julie Maloney – 308 pages
ARC from She Writes Press in exchange for an honest review.
Book Blurb:
When eight-year-old Vinni Stewart disappears from a Jersey shore town, Maddy, her distraught single mother, begins a desperate search for her daughter. Maddy’s five-year journey leads her to a bakery in Brooklyn, where she stumbles upon something terrifying. Ultimately, her artist neighbor Evelyn reconnects Maddy to her passion for painting and guides her to a life transformed through art. Detective John D’Orfini sees more than a kidnapping in the plot-thickening twists of chance surrounding Vinni’s disappearance, but his warnings to stay away from the investigation do not deter Maddy, even when her search puts her in danger. When the Russian Mafia warns her to stop sniffing into their business, Maddy must make a choice whether to save one child―even if it might jeopardize saving her own.
My Review: 4 stars
A Matter Of Chance makes your heart crack when you know it’s about a missing child. What gives this book hope is the mother’s determination to not give up her belief that her daughter is still alive.
Vinni, the mother, goes to extreme measures in hopes of getting clues about her daughter’s whereabouts, which keeps the plot moving. Some kept me on my toes, a few a little far-fetched a couple where I wanted to slap her across the face for her stupidity. Love and guilt fuel her several year search, as she was the last one with Maddy when she disappeared.
Throw in a long distance divorce plus a new romance blossoming and the book has covered many emotional triggers. Depending on whether you like open, tidy or unanswered endings will definitely decide if you like how this mystery ends. I enjoyed it! I look forward to reading more from this debut author.
Quotes I liked:
But a mother beast relies on instinct.”
-She had lived where quiet had a chorus.”
-Time does not heal. It stretches the pain so it lies flat like a sheet, but it does not heal.”
