ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Ever since her mother walked out the door years ago, Sami's hope has been stoked by mysterious postcards that arrive in the mail. The only thing written on them is the cryptic "11/7" e date Sami's mother was supposed to return. Sami eventually gained a stepmother and sister, creating a semblance of a normal family. Then one day, the long-closed case of Trina Jordan, another vanished woman, is reopened. The catch? Both Jordan and her mother had once been married to Sami's father. Could he have been responsible for their disappearances? Darkness pervades every nook and cranny of this novel. Sami is a troubled girl who has lost faith in her family, friends, and own hazy memory of the day her mother disappeared. Dawn has written a twisty mystery interwoven with long-hidden family secrets. She strikingly captures the trauma of losing a beloved parent, as well as the horror of being betrayed by those you trust. An absolute page-turner that uses well-paced suspense instead of graphic violence to craft an edgy tale.

Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

It's been ten years since Sami's mother disappeared; her father was once the main suspect, but Sami has never believed he's guilty. Now, a new case with parallels to Sami's mother's disappearance reopens the investigation--and old suspicions toward her father. Sami must balance hope and dread, reality and fantasy as she mounts her own investigation in this suspenseful, emotional thriller.

Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Sami still hopes that her mother is alive 10 years after she disappeared. She also hopes that her father didn't murder her. Every time some new development in the still-open case surfaces, the white teen must dodge the stares of her classmates and the presence of the news media on her lawn. She was 6 when her mother disappeared, and she struggles to remember the events of that day. Meanwhile, although the police have always suspected her father, the detective on the case urges her to keep an open mind even when events again point to her father as the guilty party, and Sami begins, finally, to believe that it might be possible. She develops an ever closer friendship with the handsome nephew of their neighbor, also once a suspect. Even after 10 years a cascade of new evidence turns up. Although Sami dutifully reports everything to the police, nevertheless she ultimately finds herself in great danger even as she realizes who the true culprit might be. Dawn keeps pouring in new facts and new speculations as she winds her way through the labyrinth of evidence and suspicions she builds into her narrative. Present-tense narrator Sami reveals enough of other characters to give them depth and plausibly build the psychological suspense. Detailed and suspenseful. (Mystery. 12-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When new evidence surfaces in the unsolved mystery of her mother-s disappearance, 16-year-old Sami Lang is determined to uncover the truth. No one has seen Delilah Lang since that afternoon 10 years earlier when she left the house and never returned. Suspicion fell on Sami-s professor father, Chris, recently divorced from her mother and well on his way to becoming an alcoholic. Sami, who has since grown close to her stepsister and stepmother, never believed that her mother died, especially after she began receiving cryptic postcards from around the country, inscribed with her mother-s two favorite numbers. Now the police have a new lead: another woman is reported missing and has disturbing ties to Sami-s family. Dawn (Oblivion) creates an engrossing thriller, blending Sami-s amateur sleuthing with believable teen angst: Sami develops feelings for her strange neighbor-s handsome visiting nephew, while contending with the unwanted media attention her mother-s case attracts. It-s not the shot at a happy ending that makes this such a compelling story, so much as Sami-s struggle to come to terms with tragedy without letting it define her. Ages 13-up. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 8 Up-When Sami was six, her mother disappeared. Around the same time, another woman in her father's life, a secret ex-wife, also disappeared. Ten years later, a woman's remains and a passport application bring Sami's father back into a police investigation. But Sami doesn't think the body is her mother's, because Sami has been receiving postcards from her, mailed from all over the United States, for years. Sami tries to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while attempting to unlock memories she might have suppressed of the day her mother left. As Sami's stepmother and stepsister further distance themselves from Sami's dad after a recent divorce, Sami turns to Ryan, an old childhood friend, for comfort. Then Sami's grandmother rolls in with her RV, and Sami worries that her alcoholism will affect her father's sobriety. With new theories about what happened and new suspects, Sami struggles to hold on to the belief that her father is innocent. Astute readers might be disappointed by how easily so many clues fall into Sami's lap. Still, Dawn's skillful pacing and strong characters create a suspenseful story that will appeal to readers who like a good crime thriller. VERDICT A suitable addition for those needing to beef up their collections of psychological crime thrillers for teens. Adrienne L. Strock, Nashville Public Library

Voice of Youth Advocates (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

No one wants to imagine that a parent could be a murderer. For Sami, it has been a ten-year reality. Her life is like an Unsolved Mysteries episode gone rogue. She should be concerned with school crushes, prom dates, and whether she should take Ryan out of the friend zone. Wondering if her father actually did kill her mother—and perhaps another woman he was involved with in the past—is not what she had in mind, but it is enveloping every aspect of her life. As the persistent Detective Eschermann seeks to prove her father’s guilt, Sami wavers between standing by his innocence and believing in his guilt. The unfolding facts lead her (and the reader) down a messy trail that could boggle the most forensically inclined mind. What Sami discovers at the end of her journey will amaze lovers of suspense. Dawn pens a wonderfully written suspense novel that both young adult readers and adults will enjoy. Each character is dynamic and unique; each one of the large cast of family members, neighbors, and friends shows depth and growth. The reader can visualize each scene and sympathize with Sami as the case unfolds in very nonlinear fashion. Teachers can use this book in a mystery/suspense unit. It would pair well with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (Strand Magazine, 1901 – 1902) or Patricia Reilly Giff’s Pictures of Hollis Woods (Random House, 2002).—Anjeanette Alexander-Smith.