WHEREVER SHE GOES – Kelley Armstrong
Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250181350 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1250181367 (e-book)
June 25, 2019
Contemporary Fiction
Chicago – Present Day
Recently separated from her husband Paul, who has custody of their three-year-old daughter Charlotte, Aubrey Finch is spending her day with Charlie in the park. Aubrey never felt she fit in with the other suburban stay-at-home moms, even when she was one of them. As they sit and watch their children from the benches, she is on the slide and swings playing with Charlie. Aubrey sees another mom sitting on a bench away from the other moms and playing a game with her young son. As Aubrey helps Charlie work on cartwheels, the little boy notices and wants to join in the game. Aubrey and the woman exchange a few words while she helps the two children attempt cartwheels. The young woman receives a phone call and steps away. Aubrey continues to play with the two kids while watching the other Mom. She has no idea what the phone call is about, but the woman seems upset and begins to speak in another language. When the call ends the other Mom and the boy leave.
Aubrey doesn't think anymore of the encounter until later the following week; while she's jogging in the same park, she witnesses the kidnapping of a young boy, the same boy who played with Charlie. She contacts the police and reports what she has seen. They respond but find no other witnesses. The police take Audrey's statement and agree to let her know if the boy is found. Aubrey is sure of what she saw, but not sure what to do. She lives in a constant state of fear that her estranged husband Paul will discover her past, decide she is not a fit parent , and take Charlie away from her forever. When the body of a woman is found shot in the head in the park days later, Aubrey recognizes the woman as the mother of the boy whom she believes was kidnapped. The police write her off as an attention seeker.
Aubrey can't let it go. Maybe she is crazy; maybe years of living a lie have become too much. But what she does know absolutely is that she's a mother and would do anything to save her own child. She can do no less for the missing boy the police are convinced doesn't exist.
This is the basic set-up for WHEREVER SHE GOES; however, it's really just the beginning for Aubrey in her mission for redemption, for the past she hid from Paul, and for the guilt she feels for not being honest with him from the day they met. Aubrey brings all the skills she has hidden for years to the fore in her search for a missing boy, and her tenacity leads to consequences she could never have imagined.
WHEREVER SHE GOES is a fascinating tale. It's about a woman learning to be who she really is and live with it. It's also about a woman terrified of losing her own child to the man she still loves but cannot be honest with. Told in the first person from Aubrey's point of view, the reader is swept along through Aubrey's fear, her guilt and her unwavering vow to not be a bystander when life turns tragic.
Aubrey is the main character, but secondary characters, primarily Paul, Police Officer Laila Jackson, and the unknown mother of the boy are pivotal to the story. An engrossing read, WHEREVER SHE GOES is a combination of a mystery, self-awareness, and second chances. While first-person POV is not for everyone, when it is done right, the immediacy of the story is visceral. Kelley Armstrong does it right. I highly recommend WHEREVER SHE GOES for a fascinating and thrilling tale.
Terrie Figueroa
