Found

by Erin Kinsley

[zooloo1983]

I have seen this book mentioned a lot lately and I was pleasantly surprised when I was approved on Netgalley (sorry for swearing there!) to read it, I wanted to make sure I read it in time for today! This is a little gem of a book, tackling a horrifying situation in such a way made this story all the more moving.

Evan goes missing one day after school, taken from a bus stop, no rhyme nor reason to why. Just gone! When reading that my heart stopped, making me live terrors I never want to have to face with mini-me. How could he just disappear? Why?

Found is told from multiple points of view and flits between first and third-person narration. I loved this! A couple of times I got confused but once you got in the flow of the book, I found it easy to know where I was and with who. To me, this narration made more of an impact, to allow us to separate from the situation we are in with Evan and his family. The chapters are all headed up with the date, further adding to the dread of whether Evan would come home?

I did find the book dipped a little in the middle because I couldn’t see where it was going. I wasn’t going to stop reading or anything, and then I found once I got through the midway I was racing to the end to get answers. This is not a thrill-seeking flying book, this book attempts to allow you to feel the gravity of such a situation, chapters highlighting the day, showing how slow and long investigations can take. How long a journey that Evan and his family must take to regain new normality.

We live the months of Claire and Matt, Evans’ parents, trying to survive each day, living separate lives, one finding solace down the end of a bottle and the other, well we never quite know. We also focus on Naylor and Hagen the lead detectives on the case. Feeling the frustration they feel with the constant dead ends, and then being told to focus their energies elsewhere. Then Evan comes home!

The middle part of the book focuses on this. How he has withdrawn himself from the horrors and finds a sanctuary at his grandparent’s house. A place he feels safe as he can see all around. Here my heart broke, his relationship with his grandpa Jack brought me to my knees. A man who is overwhelmed to have his grandson back, never pushing him to talk, just takes him fishing, helping on the farm. Such a wonderful support for him. Not going to lie I cried in a few of these pages and then a lot at the end. Jack’s love shines through and this helps Evan take those small steps back to our world.

The last part is where it does ramp up. Another boy has been taken, can Evan help? This was tough as a reader, you never quite know what Evan has gone through as you are never told. But from the snippets that Naylor and Hagen mention you can imagine the horrors he has experienced.

I think what Kinsley has done here with this book is immense. She has shown us such a difficult subject to read, there is no glamour nor glorification, more a realistic indication of how things work. The in-depth police procedural was thrilling to read, uncovering each new piece of evidence, new leads, the breath of emotion when things don’t always pan out. Alongside this, was the everyday mundane we take for granted. A family wanting to get back to “normal” whilst trying to pick up the pieces of this shocking situation. Seeing Naylor lead her life, the talk of the police Christmas party amplifies this, a break from the horrific.

I will be keeping an eye out for Kinsley future works as this was taut and left me dealing with so many overwhelming emotions. I cried a lot at the end, for the relief and for the pain in Found, I needed to know that there would be a conclusion and one that was satisfying. Sitting back and thinking of this book as a whole, has left me speechless, where at first I thought “I enjoyed it, it was good.” I am rethinking this and I think I did absolutely enjoyed it and think it is a must-read. You may feel in places that paragraphs don’t add to the book, or they are cumbersome but when reflecting they meant something, they were powerful, highlighting the differences in the separate lives. For me, I am adding this to my list for book of the year. I am so moved by this book, I want to say it’s a beautifully woven story, but I can’t explain why due to the plot. I do feel like it’s beautifully told, the growth from the characters, albeit unnecessary as no one should have to go through this, showed strength, a family finding themselves again.