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Editorial Content for Only Ever You

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Reviewer (text)

L. Dean Murphy

Three months preceding Halloween 2013, tantrum-prone toddler Sophia briefly goes missing from a park. She later appears at the edge of the woods wanting to see the doggie, which is nowhere to be seen. After the police search ends, Sophia’s mom notices what appears to be a hypodermic puncture on her daughter’s arm. Hospital tests indicate that no drugs were administered. It’s probably a bug bite, her doting dad thinks.

Photographer and protagonist Jill is an insufferable snob, a Pittsburgh social climber who acknowledges that she and her attorney-husband David own a house they can’t afford yet berates those who don’t. A plot that begins with intrigue careens into a narrative of the maudlin marital woes of Jill and David Lassiter.

"Rebecca Drake’s fourth novel, following THE DEAD PLACE, has much potential. It’s up to the reader to ascertain the acuity of her vision for this endeavor."

Marital discord issues pale, as the couple faces “every parent’s worst nightmare.” Three-year-old Sophia goes missing during the night. Using Keystone Kopish forensics that rely only on blood type, not DNA, Detective Ottilo charges Jill with murder, although there’s no dead body to confirm that heinous act. The FBI investigates the presumed kidnapping hours after Jill reports the missing toddler, though there’s no ransom demand. Moreover, local police control the crime scene.

Meanwhile, the reader learns early on that villain Bea Walsh is responsible for Sophia’s abduction, thwarting intended psychological suspense. There are, however, flashbacks in the form of journal entries written by an unknown legal assistant who had an affair that resulted in pregnancy with one of the attorneys. Who is the mysterious lawyer known only by the initial D?

With police cards stacked against her, Jill initiates her own investigation feeling “as if she’d stepped in something unbearably slimy.” The amateur probe leads Jill to a vile, disgusting person. Time and again, Jill’s investigative path crosses that of “busy Bea,” and Jill seems to recall her from an unknown encounter.

Rebecca Drake’s fourth novel, following THE DEAD PLACE, has much potential. It’s up to the reader to ascertain the acuity of her vision for this endeavor.

Teaser

Jill Lassiter’s three-year-old daughter disappears from a playground only to return after 40 frantic minutes of searching, but the mother’s relief is short-lived --- there’s a tiny puncture mark on Sophia’s arm. When doctors can find no trace of drugs in Sophia’s system, Jill accepts she’ll never know what happened, but at least her child is safe. Except Sophia isn’t. Someone is watching the Lassiter home in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb, infiltrating the family’s personal and professional lives. As Jill faces every parent’s worst nightmare a second time, she must find out who has taken her daughter and why. Someone doesn’t just want Sophia for her own --- she’s out to destroy Jill’s entire family.

Promo

Jill Lassiter’s three-year-old daughter disappears from a playground only to return after 40 frantic minutes of searching, but the mother’s relief is short-lived --- there’s a tiny puncture mark on Sophia’s arm. When doctors can find no trace of drugs in Sophia’s system, Jill accepts she’ll never know what happened, but at least her child is safe. Except Sophia isn’t. Someone is watching the Lassiter home in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb, infiltrating the family’s personal and professional lives. As Jill faces every parent’s worst nightmare a second time, she must find out who has taken her daughter and why. Someone doesn’t just want Sophia for her own --- she’s out to destroy Jill’s entire family.

About the Book

A gripping, edge-of-your-seat domestic thriller, Rebecca Drake's ONLY EVER YOU will leave you breathless as you race to the end.

Jill Lassiter’s three-year-old daughter disappears from a playground only to return after 40 frantic minutes of searching, but the mother’s relief is short-lived --- there’s a tiny puncture mark on Sophia’s arm. When doctors can find no trace of drugs in Sophia’s system, Jill accepts she’ll never know what happened, but at least her child is safe.

Except Sophia isn’t. Someone is watching the Lassiter home in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb, infiltrating the family’s personal and professional lives.

As Jill faces every parent’s worst nightmare a second time, she must find out who has taken her daughter and why. Someone doesn’t just want Sophia for her own --- she’s out to destroy Jill’s entire family.

Audiobook available, narrated by Eva Kaminsky