This is an excellent read by a great new author. The plot is so well written that you will be very suprised at the end. It is very hard to put down and a thiller that will keep you guessing. You would almost think that it is based on a true story it is written with such personal knowledge. A great read I have recommend this book to several people!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Best suspense thriller I've read in a long while..., July 6, 2010

This review is from: Still Missing (Hardcover)
I'd forgotten the great feeling a reader gets when she/he picks up a novel and is treated to a fresh, original story and a unique point of view to the narrative. This suspense thriller by Chevy Stevens is fresh, original, and quite possibly the best novel of this genre that I've read for a very long time.

Real estate agent Annie O'Sullivan is abducted from an open house by a man she refers to as The Freak. She is held prisoner for nearly a year in a remote mountain cabin and subjected to physical and mental abuse. Her story is told within the framework of 26 sessions that she has with a psychiatrist after she escapes. Without going into further details that might spoil the story, Annie finds that her return to home, family, and friends is fraught with difficulty. She feels that she is "still missing" to them and to herself because of the horrific experiences she had while with her captor.

Annie is an unforgettable protagonist and her journey of reintegration is at times terrifying and often heartbreaking. The other characters in the book were well developed and the plot line moved beyond the predictable to a surprise ending that really makes the heroine even more sympathetic. I found this to be a book that I didn't want to put down.

Recommendation -- buy this one and enjoy a satisfying and suspenseful thriller.

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I rated this book a definite 5. I work in the mental health field so I can definitely say the description of the trauma after effects is very realistic. I could not stop reading this book. I actually closed my office door and kept reading after lunch - hoping my boss wouldn't discover me!

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I can't believe this is her first novel! What a great fast read. I didn't want to put it down!

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This book is definitely 5 stars. It moves very quickly. I read it in less than 24 hours and I was sorry when it ended. Some parts are hard to read because of the content but it is still worth it.

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This was one of the best books I've read in a while. Well formatted with a emotional, thrilling plot. I highly recommend.

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This book was excellent. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. As others have mentioned some parts are a little hard to read but made the book that much more compelling. I am looking forward to reading Chevy Stevens' next book.

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JUST GREAT !

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Got this book from my local library's "free" cart. Per the summary on the inside of the book jacket, it sounded interesting. Almost immediately the reader knows that Annie, the protagonist, was abducted but reappeared a year later. The narrative is in the first person. The story unfolds when Annie is talking with her therapist. The chapters aren't called chapters but "Session One," "Session Two," etc. The therapist never speaks--the entire book is Annie's monologue about her experience.

As Annie described her first few days with The Freak (her name for the kidnapper), I wasn't sure I wanted to finish the book since it's very dark. But, knowing that Annie somehow got free kept me interested as I wanted to know how that happened.

SPOILERS: Annie escaped after killing The Freak. The way she did so was improbable--The Freak had asked Annie to come outside to help him stack wood that he had cut. He, an ultimate control freak, was not paying attention as she went back and forth stacking wood. She suddenly grabbed the ax, which was behind The Freak, and drove it into the back of his head. Instead of immediately leaving the scene since she was now free, Annie decided she needed to hide The Freak's body.

SPOILER CONTINUED: When Annie found her way to a police station in a very small town, she ended up being interviewed by an officer called in from another jurisdiction. He was her main contact as the investigation continued. One night (I believe it was months after Annie's return) she called him and learned he was out of town (about an hour away) following up on some leads in her case. Annie decided to drive up there (for reasons I don't recall) and spent the night with him and of course, they had sex. I was thoroughly disgusted. It was gratuitous and added nothing to the story. Furthermore, I found it highly unlikely that a police officer who was investigating an abduction case would then have sex with the victim.

SPOILER CONTINUED: There's a second abduction attempt which Annie fights off. Oddly, Annie, who often sleeps in a closet because of her trauma, continues to go jogging by herself. Finally, there's a big twist at the end where we learn that Annie's mother engineered the initial abduction and then the abduction attempt after Annie returned. The rationale for these two incidents was also completely off the wall. END OF SPOILERS

I found this a rather unsatisfying read. I had no empathy/sympathy for Annie. Annie's mother was also very unlikeable. I wouldn't recommend this.

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Interesting book.

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Good book !!!

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Don't start this book unless you have the time to get at least half-way through it without putting it down. It's that good. A suspenseful drama about a woman who is abducted by a psychopath and held against her will for a year. The story is told in her own words as she talks with her therapist, making it that much more personal and intimate.

It is a story that will break your heart and scare you to death, ending with a plot twist that slowly evolves until it cannot be denied. Stevens must have had good readers and a great editor because the story is pretty tight for a first novel. I hope her next book is just as good.

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At first blush, Chevy Stevens' debut novel Still Missing (Winner of the 2011 Thriller Award for Best First Novel issued by the International Thriller Writers) wouldn't be something I would consider for the R.I.P. Challenge VI, as it is neither Gothic or supernatural, although there is a mystery. I am reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which I love and would definitely count for the Challenge, so I thought this audiobook was more to while away the ten-plus hour road trip from Florida to Virginia last week. I wanted to try something a bit different, something suspenseful with an even better mystery to sort out.

When Still Missing was first released, it garnered rave reviews in the blogosphere and the general view was unanimous that the reader should dive into the book not really knowing too much of the plot. Wise advice, so here's a snapshot: Annie is a young realtor holding an open house on a beautiful day by the water in a quiet residential neighborhood in Vancouver. By the end of the day, tired and packing up, waiting for her boyfriend to meet her for dinner, the last walk-in arrives. Debating if she should turn him away, she instead decides to go ahead and show him the house. He seems harmless enough.

It was not what I was expecting. Since I plan to read more than four books for Peril the First, I am going to list this as my first book for the R.I.P. Challenge because there is a mystery and it is extremely scary.

What follows after Annie shows the house to the last minute walk-in is terrifying. Told through Annie's first-person perspective to her therapist after the crime has been committed, it is disturbing and horrifying, witnessing Annie's terror from the abduction and other offenses that are committed. And while the reader (listener) is reeling from the events of the story, it is only then that you learn that there is much, much more to keep you up at night. While surrounded by a small circle of friends, Annie continues to be tormented by the realization that the horror may not be over yet and that those around her could very well be more than they seem.

Chevy Stevens has certainly left her mark - while the subject matter in Still Missing was difficult and horrifying, it was a story that we couldn't stop listening to and it brought out a range of emotions for us. But I will not sugar coat this. This is an extremely tough story due to both the crime itself and the subsequent aftermath and mystery, and through an audiobook it is even more disturbing. However, since the story is told in first-person, the audio version seemed to suit the story best in that format, almost simulating the listener as Annie's therapist and engaging you into the story even more. Be warned - while an incredible and memorable story and one I recommend, the subject matter is graphic and violent. If you do listen to the audiobook, please let me know your thoughts.

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I was really surprised by how much this book truly dragged me in. Let's just say when I got it absolutely no housework got done that day or the next till I finished it. That rarely happens to me.

Annie is the focus here and the story is about her in the present talking to her psychiatrist about being held for a year in captivity. The abuse, physical, mental and verbal she withstood among many other tragedies she endured while being a prisoner. I really appreciated the story being told the way it was. I knew Annie had survived so it wasn't a tragedy right? Wrong. There are so many creepy twists and turns here that I actually felt very emotional for Annie and everything she had to process. I read books all the time but my one guilty pleasure has always been pyschological thrillers because those get under your skin and for me add some meaning to life whether its good or bad. Read this book but its not for the faint of heart its sad, thrilling, beautiful and a bitch all stacked between 2 covers. I am going on to read Chevy Stevens' other books because I am now very interested in what she has to say.

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