Michael Hart is heading back to his family’s NY City hotel room with a pizza for dinner when he spots his son’s favorite stuffed animal, Teddy, abandoned in the hallway. Presuming Teddy was dropped, he scoops him up and idly wonders how his son, Bryce, lost him when they are typically inseparable. He enters their hotel room, surprised by the silence, and wonders where his family has gone to when they knew he was fetching dinner. He texts his wife the let her know he’s returned but receives no reply. It takes him a short while to realize that all his family’s belongings are gone – except his.
Michael then has hotel security call the police, to report his family’s disappearance. As the responding officers discuss the incident with Michael, hotel security personnel screen video footage from the various cameras. To Michael’s bewilderment, he sees his wife and children exiting the hotel through a back entrance, and climbing into a sedan, before they disappear from view. They’ve clearly left of their own accord…but why??
The book next cuts to Natalie Hart in her workplace, before her disappearance, as she’s worrying about the distance that’s growing between her and Michael, whom she suspects might be having an affair. With her worries, comes insomnia, and little incidents that have her questioning her sanity. Michael has been appropriately concerned… or has he? With this on her mind, she enters the staff kitchen and encounters a young woman crying. After a quick check to ensure she’s okay, the women strike up a conversation and head to lunch, with Natalie thinking perhaps she can use this young woman, who is quite beautiful, as bait to test her husband’s fidelity.
From this point on, the book alternates between Michael’s attempts to find and re-claim his family, and Natalie’s gradual discovery of events so startling, she feels the need to flee to safety, to protect her family. As Natalie desperately attempts to outrun the man she once loved, Michael is just as intent in reuniting his family. He gains some unexpected assistance from an off-duty NY Detective, who insists on accompanying him on his search – yet seems to know far more than he should about Michael, and a past he’d much rather forget.
As revelations about each character are revealed, and you think you finally have it all figured out…just know that you’re wrong! This book takes off running, and as each little reveal is made, you’ll find yourself just flipping the pages even faster as you try to guess the end game… A consummate psychological thriller from one of the best!!
I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!
Tropical Delusions...... 