Rosalind Noonan

People take note, this book is definitely a must read. It has a bit of everything packed in: lots of emotion, some romance, mystery and crime. I was intrigued from page one and that continued all the way through although some parts I almost dreaded reading in fear of what was coming.
Jane Ryan escapes from her psychopathic abusive cop boyfriend after he arranges and demands she have an abortion when she finds out she is pregnant. She moves to a different state, settling in the beautiful town show more of Mirror Lake. She changes her name and finds out she is carrying twins. She wants to raise both girls but as a single mom with no support she knows she can't afford to keep both babies and she faces the excruciating decision of having to separate the twins and give one up for adoption. She keeps her past a secret, living in fear that her daughter could inherit some of her father's violent personality and that Frank could find them. She raises Harper on her own and while Harper is a rather difficult child (and not very likeable, I didn't care too much for her ) life is pretty much normal. At least it is until the other twin and her adoptive mother move into town, then things get really interesting and Jane is forced to face her past that she has kept a secret from everyone, including her boyfriend.
The age old question of nurture vs nature rears its head here. Frank was a policeman, but a crazy and violent psychopath, following the footsteps of his father and other relatives. How much of what's in your genes predicts your personality? If someone like Frank has a child but is raised without him and in a loving home with caring parent(s) that raise the child lovingly and properly, is that enough to escape the sins of the father? What are the chances that the child could be like Frank, and do you sit around waiting for the ticking time bomb to explode?
I had figured out early on how things were but it didn't spoil the story for me at all. A little like a car crash, I didn't want to face what was coming, but I couldn't stop reading.
I had some issues with the characters. Besides not liking Harper, I had a problem with how cold Jane was with Isabel. I get it was a closed adoption and Isabel appearing would make things really awkward making her face and reveal facts from her past. She seemed unable to bond or be close to Isabel, didn't seem to care that this was her child. She didn't give up Isabel because she hated her, quite the opposite but I didn't see any of that in her actions, she didn't seem to care about having any kind of relationship with her. And Luke? No reaction to what Jane's been hiding? Not even a teensy bit mad?Even Isabel, I would expect her to act differently as the child who was given away.
As I got further in, the pages couldn't turn fast enough. I had a pretty late night, just one more chapter ended up being many more. And I must say, that epilogue gave me the creeps.
I have read a number of Rosalind Noonan's books and she quickly became a favourite of mine. I don't understand why many people don't know about her. All the books of hers that I have read have been fantastic and after some searching I was able to find the ones I hadn't yet read. I think this one may be my favourite. show less

A special thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK by Rosalind Noonan is an emotional, chilling, and suspenseful mystery thriller; an exploration of highly charged contemporary topics— complexities of motherhood, family, genetics, bullying, sibling rivalry, domestic abuse, psychological conflicts, and evil.

In Seattle, Jane Ryan has to stick to the plan, as she envisions herself and her life beyond the hospital. Some choices show more could be easily fixed, but not this. She has given birth to twins; however, she can only keep one. Which baby? The one crying all the time or the pleasant one? One would be a challenge, but two? She would love to keep both, so two sisters could grow up together.

She had wanted to name the babies after literary icons, Harper Lee and Louisa May Alcott, thinking possibly it would raise their IQ. With no choice, she chose to give away one for adoption, and move south to Portland, Oregon and hopefully the girls would never cross paths. The adoptive mother would not be given Jane’s information as a closed adoption. Jane had moved over the years to different states and changed her name. At the beginning of the novel readers are unaware why she is running.

The book flashes forward to fourteen years later. Harper, the daughter is in high school at Mirror Lake and Jane a teacher at the same school. All goes well until her worst nightmare catches up with her (actually several). She had pretended that she was in the witness protection program and tried to make a new start. Frank, the father of her twins.

Frank was a cop. Above the law. He was persuasive and charming. After all, he wanted her to have an abortion. The trauma of Frank Dixon had nearly destroyed her. If Frank was hunting her down, she had to keep running. When he had told her he came from a family of crazies, she had thought he was joking, but since she has learned different.

For a decade she had focused on making a life for herself and her daughter, and most people believed Harper’s father was dead. Frank is locked up after all, so he is no longer a threat. Seven years for sexual assault. He used his authority as a cop and raped women. After she escaped he repeated his behavior over and over again. He will be out soon.

Now after all these years, the police want her to testify against him in order to keep him in prison. They need to prove his entire family is associated with heinous crimes. She has spent half of her life, trying to run from him, and she wants him locked up for good. He had been a model boyfriend until moved into together and he had seized control gradually. After a year, she found out she was pregnant. After he had made the appointment for the abortion, she left. Now she begins to wonder if genetics play a part in antisocial behavior. Is psychopathy inherited? A result of nature or nurture?

When Harper winds up in trouble she begins asking about her father, she starts liking boys, Jane is worried as Harper is pushing the limits, bullying and has a temper. She finds herself watching Harper for signs of her father’s meanness. This makes her begin to think about Louisa. She rarely allows herself to dwell on the child she gave away—Was Louisa more like Jane – academic, serious-minded, and obedient, perhaps?

To further complicate matters, there is a new girl, Isabel at their school and she looks like Harper. Harper dislikes her saying she escaped from Malibu Barbies beach house all frilly and pink. However, the girl Harper hates is Olivia – her rival, her nemesis.

Are some children born with a propensity for evil? Jane just hoped her environment has an impact over genetics. However, each day she is seeing Harper’s sense of entitlement and greed. She had seen those demons many times in Frank’s eyes. Had she raised Harper all these years without instilling important concepts like honest and integrity? Now there is a new girl at school and she looks like Harper? Could this be Harper’s twin?

So many secrets, and what if this is her daughter and it comes out? She could lose her job, her boyfriend, and possibly her other daughter—it would be a scandal.

Now Isabel's adoptive dad has died and her mom is sick, so through a PI, they track Jane down. Isabel (Louise) is the good one, an editor- in- chief of the school newspaper, the good student with a 4.0 grade point average. Jane is distraught, this cannot be happening! When it all comes out, the girls make friends for a short time, and then one starts scrambling for more attention, with more evil.

However, when Jane has to take care of Isabel (Louise) while her mother Chrissy, is very sick, some other evidence comes to light, proposing the question— which is really the evil twin? Louise Isabel, Harper Lee, or both?

Perhaps Frank’s evil genes had been passed down, to not one daughter but two. Which one can she trust? Manipulating like Frank. How can she ever forgive herself? Before it ends there are two dead and three on the hit list. The epilogue is chilling, so hope there will be a second book . . .

Boy, oh boy . . surprises around every corner with twists and turns. It has taken me a while to write my review, as did not want to say too much; however, sometimes you have to “give a little more” in order to match the correct reader. Listen guys and gals, this is not a simple family drama and women’s fiction – the author really has written a suspense mystery and psycho-thriller with some excellent insights into behaviors. An intense read and a good storyteller; quite impressed since this was my first book by the author. I liked the novel better after reading the book, versus what I had envisioned after reading the initial summary.

In addition, there is the domestic violence, as mentioned in the book, one third of the women killed in the US are murdered by a domestic partner. My only comment - the author could have turned it up a notch and probably be classified as a psycho-thriller, as a good set up- maybe a sequel with backstory of Jane/Frank, more evil, and bring back Frank.

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK, in the theme of, a cross-over between T. Greenwood, Jodi Picoult, Jane Green, Chevy Stevens, Lisa Unger, and Heather Gudenkauf. Those readers enjoying young adult, evil, mystery, suspense and light psycho-thrillers will be glued to the pages. Loved the front cover with the evil look. Look forward to reading more! show less

In a lot of ways this isn't my usual fare. Although I read a lot of crime fiction and mysteries I very rarely read one in which the main character isn't strong, fierce and badass. To be honest, I'm not sure I ever have before this.

Laura Mori is not my usual heroine. She wasn't particularly confident. She wasn't really capable of defending herself. She scared easy. She wasn't sarcastic. Or bitter. Or outspoken. And she was kind of naive. But I actually rather liked her. She wasn't any of the show more above things - but she was consistent and nice and determined to try to overcome her fears. She genuinely cared about the people involved in the case and wanted to do her best to help them - even when she was terrified.

The case itself wasn't thrilling. I wasn't eagerly anticipating the next page or overly surprised with any of the twists. But like Laura Mori, it was steady and consistent and it kept my attention. I'll definitely pick up the rest of the series. show less

All She Ever Wanted is a story about the disappearance of an infant, who was in the care of a mother suffering from Post Partum Depression.

This book did a great job of illustrating the effects PPD. I really felt for Chelsea and all she was going through. She was very aware that her feeling were due to PPD, but was unable to get effective help due to an unsympathetic doctor and a bureaucratic insurance company. You could feel her desperation growing as she tried to keep her daughter safe, show more even while having horrible visions of her injuring her daughter.

I thought that the "mystery" aspect was okay, but not great. It did not feel as suspenseful as I'd expect a search for a missing infant to be.

Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. show less