Call Me Elizabeth Lark by Melissa Colasanti

Call Me Elizabeth Lark

by Melissa Colasanti

Your daughter went missing twenty years ago. Now, she's finally back. You thought she had returned a few times in the past, and your husband tells you she's not the one, but you feel it in your bones.

Now, what will you do to keep her home?

Twenty years ago, Myra Barkley's daughter disappeared from the rocky beach across from the family inn, off the Oregon coast. Ever since, Myra has waited at the front desk for her child to come home. One rainy afternoon, the miracle happens--her missing daughter, now twenty-eight years old with a child of her own, walks in the door.

Elizabeth Lark is on the run with her son. She's just killed her abusive husband and needs a place to hide. Against her better judgment, she heads to her hometown and stops at the Barkley Inn. When the innkeeper insists that Elizabeth is her long lost daughter, the opportunity for a new life, and more importantly, the safety of her child, is too much for Elizabeth to pass up. But she knows that she isn't the Barkleys's daughter, and the more deeply intertwined she becomes with the family, the harder it becomes to confess the truth.

Except the Barkley girl didn't just disappear on her own. As the news spreads across the small town that the Barkley girl has returned, Elizabeth suddenly comes into the limelight in a dangerous way, and the culprit behind the disappearance those twenty years ago is back to finish the job.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Melissa Colasanti's debut novel, Call Me Elizabeth Lark, is a thrilling novel that puts family tries, obligations – and danger into a whole different light.

Myra Barkley never gave up on her daughter. She went missing twenty years ago, and she's still convinced that one day her baby girl will come home. Well, that day has arrived, or so Myra believes. This isn't the first time she's had this daydream.

Elizabeth Lark is not Myra's daughter, but she's willing to let her believe she is. Elizabeth is on the run, having killed her husband (in self-defense). She needs a safe place for her and her son to lie low. So why not take up residence with this woman who so desperately wants her daughter back?

I really have to give Melissa Colasanti credit here. I've seen (and read) countless missing-person stories over the years. But I've never seen one so...complicated. Call Me Elizabeth Lark is a novel full of twists and turns and more than one moment that will tug on heartstrings.

It's impossible not to feel for Myra, all while understanding why Elizabeth might feel compelled to take advantage of this woman's grief. It's all so complex and sticky, yet it makes for a fantastic foundation here.

It's worth noting that there are actually three main perspectives in Call Me Elizabeth Lark. There's Myra and Elizabeth (obviously), plus a third, Gwen. Gwen is Myra's other daughter, and she also has a lot of feelings over her missing (and supposedly now found) sister.

Surprisingly, this novel felt more akin to a cozy mystery than a thriller in some ways. I think that's because while I was able to predict a lot of what was about to happen, I found myself not minding that in the least.

All things considered, this is a pretty solid debut novel, and I can't wait to see what Melissa Colasanti comes up with next.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 May, 2021: Finished reading
  • 11 May, 2021: Reviewed