Mary Kay McComas

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book which managed to stay realistic and engaging while dealing with a complicated and potentially far-fetched plot. Out of the blue Hannah gets a call from Grady (her high-school sweetheart turned town sherriff) calling her back to the town she ran away from when she was seventeen years old. Her mother and sister are dead, and she has a teenage niece who needs a guardian now that the rest of her family is gone. The book tells the story of Hannah's show more return to her hometown and the house she grew up in, and also slowly reveals the story of her childhood and the eventful night when she finally escaped.

The book was excellent- in fact I would have given it 5 stars if not for the way the relationship between Grady and Hannah develops (no spoilers but I didn't like the power play he made or her response to it). Hannah herself is a well-drawn character who carries the novel, though her niece Anna is a quiet rock who helps anchor the story. It is impossible not to feel for these two girls forced to adapt to the realities of a life no one would choose; watching their relationship develop is the best part of the book. show less

3.5 stars

Sophie is in her 20s and was adopted as a baby. She was very loved by her adoptive parents and had no interest in finding her birth parents. But she is mysteriously called to the death bed of someone she doesn’t know, as there is something he wants to tell her. She doesn’t make it to him in time, but she is asked to attend the reading of the will, where she discovers he has left her his home. Meanwhile, in this small town, there are a few people who appear hostile to Sophie, and show more it’s not long before one of them turns up dead.

The first half was a bit slow-going, but it was good. It really ramped up in the second half, though, when the mystery really got going (at least the murder mystery, anyway! Well, Sophie’s mystery, too, as it’s all connected). Yes, there is a romance here, too, but for me the romance was secondary to the much more interesting mystery(ies) going on. show less

When we are growing up, and viewing life through young eyes, we often don't see the true reality of the world around us. Hurtful things may cause us to make our own reality. We may be looking and listening, but still not comprehending. Sometimes, it takes maturity and similar experiences in our later years to really grasp the full meaning of what we have seen and experienced. Life is a continual learning process, full of starts, stops, and restarts. The truth is always there, waiting. We show more just have to find it. It already knows exactly where to find us. In "What Happened to Hannah", by Mary Kay McComas, the truth comes home to Hannah Benson in a startling manner, and one phone call forever changes the path of her life. To escape the cycle of abuse, Hannah had left home at age sixteen and never looked back. In high school, Grady Steadman was Hannah's sweetheart. Years later when he calls her, he is the sheriff of their hometown, informing her that her mother has just passed away. He also tells her that her sister had died some time ago and left behind a young daughter. Hannah's return to her home place is bittersweet, and she is forced to deal with painful memories and haunting ghosts from her past. She must also find a way to make a new life for herself and for her niece, Anna. With Grady now again a visible presence, Hannah's heart remembers how they once felt about each other, and feelings long denied flicker back into flame. In order to grasp a chance at true happiness, Hannah must let go of the weight of the past and grab on to the future with all of her heart.

Abuse has long -lasting, widespread effects-not just on the victim, but on those who care for the victim. All of us, whether we realize it or not, know someone who has been abused at some point in their life. The first reaction to abuse is denial. It's a subject which makes people uncomfortable, and the victims often linger in a very painful silence. Writing about it may encourage someone who is a victim to seek help. Acknowledgement is not only a first step, it's a giant leap!

Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine show less

There are two plots in this book, and they don't necessarily fit well together. The main plot, as suggested by the back of the book, concerns the mystery of Sophie Shepard's origins. She's summoned to the deathbed of an elderly man she's never met, and discovers that she's been left his home in her will. Everyone in the small town of Clearfield, Virginia, acts strange around her. Sophie chalks this up to a very small town being closed to outsiders. By the end of the book she'll discover why show more she's in Virginia and why she's inherited an estate from a man she's never met, and the reasons aren't very pleasant. Secondary to this mystery, is a budding romance between Sophie and a doctor she meets at the hospital, Drew McCarren. This is a sort of ridiculous story, it takes up way too much of the book, and takes away from the mystery. Sophie and Drew head over heels in love with each other, and even Drew's overbearing society mother seems to like Sophie. Sophie and Drew act kind of like teenagers even though they're supposed to be full-grown adults.

In general, I thought the mystery portion of this book was well-done. I had figured out the story behind Sophie's birth mother by the time she visits the lawyer, but I still enjoyed reading to see what would happen at the end. It was a more complicated ending than I expected. That said, I found the beginning of the book to be hard to slog through. Sophie is far too perfect and nice to be believable, and her internal dialogue about Drew is basically inane. More mystery, less romance, would make this a better book.

Interesting aside- I think the author must be a UVA alum- there's so much about Charlottesville and UVA in here. It's written with the fervent love of place that's commonplace among UVA alums (yes, I am one.) show less