Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Where They Found Her,' A Mystery by Kimberly McCreight.

Losing a child must be one of the worst things a mother can face. To be encouraged to move on, to put such a tragedy behind is often only in the well-wishers own unfamiliarity of what such a loss entails. The process almost always involves guilt, for mothers feel their first priority is to protect their child, and often begin to blame themselves and struggle to come to terms with their internal  guilt and strife. 

In Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight , we meet one such individual. A reporter, she buries herself in her job hoping the control she exerts there will alleviate her internal suffering. Her husband is helpful and tries to help her healing, yet she hides much of her grief and pain. So when she is called to the case of a body being found, Molly, her husband and her boss are all concerned when said body is that of a new born, and the death seems quite brutal.

Molly finds herself in the middle of a job that takes her in directions she doesn’t want to go. Yet she is unwilling to relinquish the case for she feels her understanding of such a loss will keep her digging until the truth comes out. Little does she know that it will also further twist her own dreams, as she tries to help find the answers? 

Will she crack under the pressure of such an investigation or can she finally pull her own life into a semblance of normal and create her own healing, chasing away her own self-hate?

McCreight has given us a dark journey that can often lead to destruction. Her characters are human with both flaws and emotion, and her insight and thought processing create a light of possible healing. She takes the darkness of loss and stretches it beyond bounds; just to rubber band it to where it can be looked at in a different fashion.  She takes the darkness before the dawn that one step further, where just when you think there is no answer or way out, a light of truth begins to glimmer.

This is an emotion filled story and you find yourself drawn to the characters. This is a work that will drain you and make you think, so be prepared to bring the tissues. 

If you enjoy mystery and red herrings, and often look for that work that takes you into the drama of life you will find this work to deliver.  

This would be an interesting book for a reading group, a thought provoking look at how personal loss can affect a family, a life and a career. 

Rating 4/5