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Still Missing

by Chevy Stevens (Goodreads Author)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 18,506 ratings · 3,357 reviews

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven...more

ebook, 261 pages

Published July 6th 2010 by St. Martin's Press

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Jul 02, 2012 Jason rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-kindle, 2011, reviewed, flames-on-the-side-of-my-face

Hey, I have a recommendation!

Yeah, if anyone’s looking for some really hollow characters who behave in ways that make no freaking sense, plot development that is not even remotely believable, and disastrously bad writing that’s actually kind of funny sometimes...schyea dude! Look no further, because this one has it all. In fact, it even has the bonus of a supposed “twist ending” where the author apparently mistook the word “twist” for “pulled it out of my ass because I couldn’t think of anything...more

67 likes · like · see review

Dec 09, 2011 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, july-read

This story is a heart-felt chilling and engaging story of an abduction. She tells us her harrowing ordeal via her sessions with her psych doctor. It's heartbreaking at times and very real in how maybe these extreme conditions accounted for in this story insidiously alters a victims state of mind. This story is not designed to be a fast paced story but rather a well spanned out story of courage and the evil that people do. Recently winner of The Thrillfest Award 2011.

http://more2read.com/?review=...more

18 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2010 Miss Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, horror-or-mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. We learn about a woman’s abduction, her year long captivity with a psycho, her escape, and how the trauma affects not only her but everyone close to her. It is told in first person through sessions with a therapist, and I liked this approach. The story starts out very fast paced, with her being kidnapped within the first ten pages. I was hooked.

The Freak, as she calls the captor in her mind, takes her to a windowless cabin somewhere in the wilderness. He reveals his plans for her over the cours...more We learn about a woman’s abduction, her year long captivity with a psycho, her escape, and how the trauma affects not only her but everyone close to her. It is told in first person through sessions with a therapist, and I liked this approach. The story starts out very fast paced, with her being kidnapped within the first ten pages. I was hooked.

The Freak, as she calls the captor in her mind, takes her to a windowless cabin somewhere in the wilderness. He reveals his plans for her over the course of a few days and she is horrified. He plans to keep her as his ‘wife’, where they will never leave this place, and live off the land. She is expected to bear his children. She must follow his rules, endure his beatings, nightly rapes, and psychological games. She slowly beings to lose pieces of herself. This is shaping up to be a pretty good story right? Hmm…

About half way through, she out of the blue gets an opportunity to get away from him. I just didn’t buy it, and started to question how the rest of the story would go. In the following description, I’ve left out some details of her captivity (such as the baby factor) because I’m not focused on that. He’s chopping wood, and wants her to stack it for him. He sets the ax down to do something, and she gets this idea to brain him with it. Ok fine. However, this woman has just givin birth to a baby a few weeks before, has not slept in five days, and has barley eaten. Somehow she has the strength to lift an ax and drive into the back of this mans skull. Have you ever lifted an ax? It’s not like swinging a baseball bat—those things are heavy. I just couldn’t buy that she could swing this with such power, overhead, and drive the blade of an ax into the back of a taller man’s head. Of course it works. He dies instantly. Wow that’s it? Really? In summary, she ends up walking down the mountain and finding the van and driving to the police. What a letdown! I was anticipating a final showdown with the bad guy. I think the author got to a point where she was thinking, well crap—I need to end this stuff with the psycho, so we can get to the part of the mystery that I really want to tell. I’m tempted to throw the term ‘deus ex machina’ with sudden strength, but that may be going a bit far.

When she gets back home, the story lulls a bit. Yes, I do understand how seriously screwed up she has to be, and can’t relate to anyone. I was just kind of bored. Finally about fifty pages left, the book totally redeems itself to me when revealing the who, and why of the whole story. I did suspect the mother the whole time, but the author gets points for creating a such a pathetic woman and the reasons for what she did to her daughter. In the end, I moved my initial rating from a 3 to a 4 because I did like the ending. I recommend for any fans of thrillers.
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Dec 07, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, read-in-2012

Rating: 3.5 stars

Over a series of sessions with her shrink, Annie recounts how she was abducted at gun point and held captive in a reinforced mountain cabin for a year. Raped, controlled, punished and impregnated by a screwed-up nutter who thinks he’s saving her from the bad world, she finally comes home and finds she’s still a prisoner in her own mind. The details of her captivity are disturbingly riveting as we watch her fight for her sanity and freedom, never giving up hope. Back home she sti...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 21, 2011 ivana18 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary

Annie O’Sullivan is a a 32-year-old realtor. She has a very difficult mother, a nice and understanding boyfriend, a beautiful house, a devoted dog and an amazing best friend....and all that is taken away from her one hot afternoon, while having an open house, when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave.

He's nice and friendly and says he's interested in buying and paying in cash, plus he apparently has a dog so he's got to be nice, right? Wrong!!!!
The guy is seriously distur...more

15 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Erin Dove rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Erin by: Suzanne Pringle

Shelves: pick-it-for-me-challenge, 5-stars

I cried, I laughed, I felt sick, I felt anger. This novel has without a doubt won 5+ stars in my books!!! The best book I have read in a while.

The way the author told the story was compelling. If work didn’t get in the way, I would have read this book all day long. I wouldn’t have even gotten up to go to the bathroom. That’s just how good this novel was.

So many twists and turns. The author had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire book! The character development is strong, you feel the...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Lois rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I may be in the minority on this one, but I pretty much hated it. I'm so glad I borrowed, and didn't purchase, it, because I returned it the day after I began reading it. I read about 1/3 in one evening, and just skimmed the rest to answer any curiosity about a few things. I won't mention what they were, so as not to ruin the "suspense" for anyone who is still reading the book or plans to.

While I have enjoyed past "thrillers" about obsession, such as several by Nicci French, this one was just to...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SPOILERY

As something of a connoisseur of "damsels in distress", abduction, captivity books, I was kind of surprised I hadn't heard of this one right away. The cover blurb is intriguing, as the story of this woman's year in captivity is told as she reveals it to her therapist. In truth, though, I'm having a hard time reading it. I can't connect with anyone in the story, and I don't know if that's the author's intention or not. The narrator is understandably damaged, scarred, bitter, but it's hard...more SPOILERY

As something of a connoisseur of "damsels in distress", abduction, captivity books, I was kind of surprised I hadn't heard of this one right away. The cover blurb is intriguing, as the story of this woman's year in captivity is told as she reveals it to her therapist. In truth, though, I'm having a hard time reading it. I can't connect with anyone in the story, and I don't know if that's the author's intention or not. The narrator is understandably damaged, scarred, bitter, but it's hard to find any but the most basic human compassion for her because she is so intensely unlikable. Of course, we know this is as a result of her ordeal, but perhaps if the author had shown something positive about her BEFORE the abduction, we'd be more torn apart and bitter on her behalf, but right from the beginning she comes off as an angry, combative and selfish -- and this is BEFORE anything happens to her.

Perhaps the message here is that even the most unlikable victims are still victims and still need our support, but to be honest, I only read about four pages at a time before my mind starts wandering.

The details of her life after being taken are interesting, and the bits and pieces we learn about her captor are an interesting (if not completely predictable) explanation for his behavior and rituals. He also knows everything about her past and psychoanalyzes her (again, a lot of obvious "my mother loved my sister more" revelations) in a stalkerish way that is sometimes entertaining. There are certainly scenes and events that build suspense and unspoken horror as you wonder what could possibly happen next, but then we're quickly jarred from the scene by her warning her therapist not to help her or not try to save her or any of the other ten thousand "I don't need your help" cliched-statements we hear in women's fiction every day, as if the author needs to remind us that this lady is a bad ass, and she swears, and she ain't no delicate flower.

I'm sad because the concept of this book is right up my alley, the author's construction of telling it in flashback is totally appropriate, and I love hearing about how her life has been turned upside down since coming home. It's the meat and potatoes of this book that really let me down.(less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

3.5 stars. This was a hard book to read in parts, but I can't say that I was surprised by the fact. To start, I was not fond of the constant writing style shift (therapy sessions retold in second person, then first person, with flashbacks from the time before the kidnapping mixed in), but after a while it wasn't as big of a deal.

I can honestly say that Still Missing would make an interesting movie. In fact, I think in many ways, that it would translate better to film than it does in print. There...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2010 Daniel Parsons rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A superb, expertly plotted book, brilliantly written, this is an outstanding debut novel from Chevy Stevens. Apart from perhaps We Disappear by Scott Heim, Still Missing is the only book I can think of that so effectively deals not only with an abduction or disappearance, but also the after effects of this. The two books are very different however, and their theme aside the only other common ground is that they are both undoubtedly masterpieces.

Annie O'Sullivan is a wonderful character, and the

...more

14 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2011 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have come to realize that if a book's jacket is covered in praise from authors but not a single critic, it's a bad sign. I was hoping Still Missing would be an exception since it has a high rating from readers here on Goodreads, but no suck luck.

The biggest problem is that Chevy Stevens is simply not a very good writer. I was only a few pages into the book when I came across this clunker: "Mom may be small, barely five feet, but I was the one always faling short." (Sigh.) It just got worse and...more I have come to realize that if a book's jacket is covered in praise from authors but not a single critic, it's a bad sign. I was hoping Still Missing would be an exception since it has a high rating from readers here on Goodreads, but no suck luck.

The biggest problem is that Chevy Stevens is simply not a very good writer. I was only a few pages into the book when I came across this clunker: "Mom may be small, barely five feet, but I was the one always faling short." (Sigh.) It just got worse and worse, all the way to its utterly RIDICULOUS twist ending. The author has never met a comma splice or a bad cliché she didn't like -- And how's this for character insight: "I was willing to bet she rinses out her pantyhose every night and always wears a full support bra." What the hell is that even supposed to mean?!?!

I really did not like the setup of the narrative being told in sessions to the therapist. Stevens is simply not skilled enough to pull off this trick; there were even times when present and past tenses were used incorrectly. Also, the way she made post-abduction Annie display her trauma was with forced bad-assness. Every time Annie made some “I’m such a bitch” comment to “Doc” I pictured Sandy at the end of Grease pretending soooo hard to be cool in her leather jacket. To prove how damaged Annie was, every other word became “hell” or “damn” in some lame attempt to make the reader think, “Ooh, she’s been through so much; now she’s tough and standoffish.” All it made me think was, “Who knew being kidnapped and held captive could turn you into Avril Lavigne?”

Oh, and let's not forget that author must have been absent on the first day of Creative Writing 101 when irony was discussed. Good lord. When The Freak gives Annie the book about natural pregnancy, she couldn't just leave it alone; she had to beat the reader over the head with "Yeah, that was The Freak, because, you know, abducting a woman, locking her in a cabin, and raping her is real natural." That's just plain insulting as a reader - we GET the irony; you don't have to spell it out for us. Same thing with the "I like cats" scene.

(While we're on that subject, let's not forget the masterful line "Luck was my whole damn marketing campaign. Now, that's irony for you." Um, no, actually that ISN'T ironic. But thanks for playing, Alanis!)

And can I just say for the record that if I read the word "Freak" one more time I was going to scream? Annie calls her kidnapper "The Freak," which... Ok, whatever. But then she has to use the term about five times per page, and even throws in "freaky freak" and "friend of freak" and "a freak like The Freak," and "Freak freak freak freak freak freak," and OHMYGOD someone please make it stop!!!

Then we come to the ever-so-complex character of Luke. Seriously? Handsome, supportive, good cook, loves his dog, so damn perfect that he apologizes for being too nice? I bet he turns water into wine and can make a tiny amount of oil last for 8 nights, too. I laughed my ass off when Annie hugged him and the smell of restaurant clung to him: “oregano, baked bread, garlic. He smelled like long dinners with friends, like too much wine and laughter, like happiness.” HAHA! Have you ever smelled someone who has been working in a restaurant – any kind of restaurant - all day? They smell like a big greasy onion ring and nothing else.

All right -- one last complaint before I return this crapfest to the library: As SOON as Gary was introduced in his nice suit I knew she was going to sleep with him. So corny and predictable, not to mention a horrible thing for a cop in his position to do!

I actually think this book has the PERFECT balance of mawkishness and suspense to be made into a Lifetime movie. Woman in peril? Check. Sex scene with inappropriate but hot guy? Check. Betrayed by family member? Check. Dead baby? BONUS POINTS! It would have to be a lesser Lifetime movie, though – No big Sunday night premiere and probably some unknown soap opera actress in the lead role. This story just isn’t highbrow enough for a big name star like Jennifer Love Hewitt. (For the record: THAT’s irony.)

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Feb 06, 2012 Camryn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Camryn by: Goodreads

Shelves: books-i-own, 2012-reading-challenge, action, kidnapped-or-abducted, paperback-books, awesome-covers, realistic, stand-alone-books, 3-star-books, expected-better, hard-to-finish

This book was very hard for me to rate. There were times when I thought to myself "I cant read this book." and seriously considered putting it down so I thought about giving it one star but then again the book had such emotion in it and the writing was so good I felt like I was there with her so I thought about giving it five stars. After much debate I went with three stars.
The way I rate books may be very different from the way others might rate a book. When I give a book one star it means I h...more This book was very hard for me to rate. There were times when I thought to myself "I cant read this book." and seriously considered putting it down so I thought about giving it one star but then again the book had such emotion in it and the writing was so good I felt like I was there with her so I thought about giving it five stars. After much debate I went with three stars.
The way I rate books may be very different from the way others might rate a book. When I give a book one star it means I hated the book so much I'd use it for a place mat, or tear out the pages for coasters. Two stars means they were bad but had at least one part in there that I thought was enjoyable. Three stars means I felt a sort of indifference for the book. It had both good and bad parts in it but it's not something I'd be likely to read again. Four and five star ratings both mean I couldn't find anything I didn't particularly like in the book and thought they were awesome. I know this book got three stars from me but that doesn't mean I felt indifferent toward this book, just means I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. This is the first time in my reading life where I finished a book and had no clue what rating I'd give it. For that reason alone, this book will stand out in my mind forever.
But enough of my rambling. This is the story of a young thirty-two-year-old Realtor named Annie O’Sullivan, who had been hosting an open house on fine and clear day and so business is slow. Just as she is about to call it a day and head off to meet her boyfriend for dinner a van pulls up and asks if it's too late to be shown around. She first wants to say "Yes, try again next time" but decides to be nice and show him around. He's polite and considerate and kind. She walks him through the house pointing out its best qualities when he asks if the backyard is fenced off because he has a dog. She takes him to the back and he puts a gun to her back and tells her to "Put that pretty smile on your face and walk out to my van." With the gun grinding against her spine she has no choice but to obey. On her way to the van she's thinking "Someone has to be seeing this. It's an open house, a car is gonna pull up any second." But no car does. He tells her to open the door and get in. She doesn't move. He grind the gun father into her back in warning and she complies. She hops in, closes the door, and as soon as he begins to walk to the other side she tries to open the door but finds it locked. He gets in on the other side and begins driving while asking about her day. The whole thing is kind of awkward. When he pulls over in a forest area and gets out and tells her to do the same she begins to panic. He walks her to the back of the van and tells her to get in and lie flat on her stomach. She begins to beg for her life, telling him that anything he wants she'll give it to him if he lets her go. It doesn't work. So she gets in a lies on her stomach and he gives her a drug to knock her out. That is when she gets thrown into hell. She relives the events of her year in captivity with her shrink and goes over everything he did to her. How he beat, raped, impregnated, tormented (both physically and mentally), and brutalized her for the entire year. How these things effected her life after.
It was hard watching this story unfold and to see the things he made her do and how negatively this effected her once she got back. I hated her mother and how she always made everything about her. Annie was the victim and her mother was all "Me me me" and barely even caring about the fact that her daughter had been kidnapped, raped, and impregnated only to lose her poor baby when she was only four weeks old. Nope, her mother only cared about how this whole thing affected her.
This story is very emotional and keeps you guessing until the very end. Don't let the rating fool you, read the book. You wont be sorry. (less)

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Nov 23, 2012 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of mystery, thrillers and suspense

Recommended to Katy by: Amazon Vine Program

Shelves: vine-book

Please note: I read this book in 2010. I'm updating this review to add a disclosure and disclaimer and otherwise format it to my current standards.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis: Annie O'Sullivan had a good life - plenty of money, a nice house, nice car, lots of good clothing ... everything was going great. Until she was abducted by a man who was obsessed with her, who set her up as his...more

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Jan 12, 2013 TerriC. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 32 year old Annie, who’s a Realtor, was abducted while alone at an open-house. The story is about being abducted by a stranger and how she suffered at his hands for a year. From the get-go I did not like Annie at all. She seems more like an angry, foul-mouthed, crude teenager than a woman in her 30s. I despise the word freak simply because I think it sounds stupid and she always referred to her abductor as The Freak (real name Simon Rousseau) throughout the entire book. She also kept referring t...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Reddwhine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: just-finished

I have recently been lamenting that they don't write books like they used to or else I've read so many that I'm jaded to the point where nothing surprises me or delights me any more. I finished this book yesterday and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Still Missing gave me that "WOW, I'm sorry this book is over" feeling. This book so to speak had me at hello. From the first page, from the first word this book had me completely riveted.

I've never been raped, I've never been kidnapped

...more

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Aug 14, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

From My Blog...[return][return]Clayton Falls is receiving more recognition than ever before, but that is not necessarily good for the town located on Vancouver Island in Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. The story opens up with Annie O’Sullivan’s first therapy session with her new therapist, Nadine. Annie O’Sullivan was kidnapped and held hostage for a year, now she is trying to put the pieces of her life back together yet something is still not quite right. Still Missing is told primarily through...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, vine, fiction

If I could give Still Missing more than 5 stars, I would. I was so spellbound upon finishing the book that I had a hard time articulating what made it so great. It was an incredibly written psychological rollercoaster that demanded my full attention and lingered long after I put it down. All that Annie went through, from her abduction, captivity, recovery and everything after were so entrancing. I enjoyed the device that the author used having Annie narrate during her sessions with her shrink. A...more

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Jun 24, 2010 ♥ttlyoverit17♥♪ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: doylestown-bookshop-free-books

Annie O'Sullivan is your regular, modern-day woman. She has a boyfriend, her own house and dog, and works as a realtor. Unfortunately, her wonderful job is what gets her in trouble. While trying to sell an important house to a seemingly nice and rich man, she is kidnapped by him. After being drugged she wakes up on a bed in a cabin with absolutely no open doors, windows, or even any cracks. There are no weapons or any means of escape. She is horrifed, as anyone would be, and soon learns the rule...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Robin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-group-worthy

This doesn't come out until June 2010 but lucky me, I won a copy from Bookreporter.com as long as I send them a review. I'll post when finished, and judging from how fast I'm devouring it, it won't be long.

Update: I'm really sorry to tease you like this--OK, maybe not so sorry that I'm not posting my review early, but this was one of the best thrillers I have read in ages. Annie is 32 with a tepid career as a real estate agent, an annoying mother, and a nice-guy boyfriend. Near the end of an uns...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Lynne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. It kept me riveted. My only complaint that almost kept me from giving it 5 stars was the ENDING! It was good, and I don't mind what happened in the end, but it just ended so abruptly and left me hanging. Like the author just didn't know what else to say and was tired of writing. I felt the same way about Girl in Translation's ending.

I like when I close a book at the end and say, "Oh, that was so good!" not "That's it? Just like that, it's over?"

I think I must be really picky a...more

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Jun 13, 2010 William Bentrim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Anne is a realtor. Her open house disastrously morphs into something disturbingly different. Her experience is compounded by an ultimate betrayal; her return to sanity remains a question throughout the book, a grossly disturbing mystery.

I had trouble reading this book. The situation is horrific to the extreme. Anne faces things that no person should have to face. Her responses seemed quite natural for the scenario. Chevy Steven did a nice job portraying such strong...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Zaczytanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Zapraszamy do przeczytania recenzji tej książki na blogu Zaczytanie.
Możecie ją znaleźć: >>>>>TU!<<<<<

I z góry dzięki za odwiedziny :)

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Jan 29, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked how Chevy Stevens presented this debut. Sounds like a simple story. Real Estate Agent, Annie O'Sullivan is abducted at the closing of an open house. She coins this person "The Freak", though some of us may have other names for this type of predator. We learn of Annie's harrowing fight for survival through gut wrenching, often angry, therapy sessions. It's a good way to unfold Annie's story, a session at a time. The title summed it up for me.

A debut, Still Missing is a fast paced...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Vicki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh my ... This book is just ... amazing. It is captivating. I could not put it down. I do not want to tell too much and ruin it for those who have not yet read it. Just know that this book is filled with raw, sometimes brutal scenes. It is heartbreaking and profound. Yet, despite the moments of horror is it also mesmerizing. Some moments were truly painful to read and my heart broke. But there is also beauty, and hope there too ... This book is a combitation of beauty, chilling and haunting ......more

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Jul 01, 2011 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a f***ed up book. Good, but f***ed up haha. If you're like me and are skeptical after you get about halfway through, KEEP READING. I was pretty bummed how the middle of the book played out but decided to finish it and I'm so glad I did.

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May 04, 2013 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Annie O’Sullivan is a likeable 32-year-old realtor with a sweet boyfriend, and narcissistic mother is abducted from an open house one afternoon on Vancouver Island. She is kidnapped by knife-point, drugged and taken to a cottage in the middle of a forest. Annie’s experiences at the the hands of the man she refers to as “The Freak” may be difficult to read for some as Stevens’ intense and unforgettable narrative describes in great detail the physical, sexual and mental abuse that Annie is forced...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Webster Library rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first book written by this author and it’s a page turner. I was very impressed with the voice of the character and how the story unfolds. Annie O’Sullivan is a real estate agent. She is showing a house when her last visitor abducts her and takes her to a secluded cabin in the hills. Annie tells the story retrospectively to her psychiatrist, as she’s trying to reclaim her life after the horrific events that stole everything from her. Stevens’s story is told from a perspective that I’ve never...more The first book written by this author and it’s a page turner. I was very impressed with the voice of the character and how the story unfolds. Annie O’Sullivan is a real estate agent. She is showing a house when her last visitor abducts her and takes her to a secluded cabin in the hills. Annie tells the story retrospectively to her psychiatrist, as she’s trying to reclaim her life after the horrific events that stole everything from her. Stevens’s story is told from a perspective that I’ve never seen before. It’s written expertly and makes you completely immersed in Annie’s life. The psychiatrist never speaks in the story, but you can tell through Annie’s descriptions, is horrified by the tale that is told. Annie’s life is a nightmare that the reader gets piece by piece as Annie herself is able to deal with the ramifications that impact her daily life.

The story is very gritty and makes you cringe. Every moment you wonder what would you do in that situation. Annie uses an interesting way of describing action. She discusses how things happen in movies and on TV and how they happen in reality. The real world happenings are never the same as they happen in the movies. I wonder if this will happen more in story telling because people have such a TV reality.

Chevy Stevens really gets into the head of the character. She gives the perspective of people who ask the question how could a woman put up with that, why didn’t she just run away. As a viewer of horrific events, we can see the situation afterwards, how we would handle it. Stevens gives the reader that perspective and shows them how they are wrong and how they could never handle a situation like Annie was put in. I think this is a real eye opener for those who blame the victim. If only they could have done x, y or z, they would have made it out sooner. This is an incorrect statement and one that we hear over and over in the story.

This book does a great job of getting the reader to question reality. The things that happen to her are far from normal reality. She is not able to see the truth because so many people are lying to her. This makes the reader question the reality of the story and there are so many twists and turns that the story is full of surprises. The story was expertly written and you feel like the main character knows no more than you do. You are learning and unwrapping the story together. This made for a truly compelling story. I would recommend this book to people who like thrillers and mysteries. It is very dark and full of horrible treatment of women so you need to have a pretty strong stomach. You might also like Gillian Flynn, Jaquelyn Mitchard, Laura Wiess and Alice Sebold.

Jenny Paxson
Readers' Advisory Librarian
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Apr 01, 2013 Cyndy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book too violent, on one hand but exceedingly dull, on the other. The ending was a shocker but it didn't make up for the fact that because it's such a slow read, I skimmed parts just to finish it. The main character is a victim of a very unhappy childhood and it's hard not to sympathize with her. But her "tough guy" attitude wears a little thin by the middle of the book. She's a victim of a very violent crime who winds up having a relationship with the police officer in charge of th...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Michala Tyann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

STILL MISSING By Chevy Stevens
Reviewed by Michala T.

In one moment, Anne O’Sullivan, a 32-yr old real estate agent, finds her life forever changed when she is abducted from an open house she is hosting. The reader doesn’t come in on this scene. Instead, we get to read as her experience is told to her therapist one session at a time.

Her life before the event was similar to the everyday normalcies of life, sprinkled with shadows of a horrific event in which her father and sister were killed in an...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Jean Farrell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't often write reviews, even though I read a ton of books. I just generally find that someone has said whatever I'd like to say, so I can move on. But I bought this book because it has so many positive reviews, so I thought it had to be pretty good. I thought I'd submit my negative review to counterbalance the positive reviews.

I gave it two stars instead of one because I did finish it. It was not unreadable. But the writing really was amateurish, and the story just plain silly. First of all...more

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About Chevy Stevens

Chevy Stevens is the New York Times Bestselling author of STILL MISSING and NEVER KNOWING. Chevy grew up on a ranch on Vancouver Island and still lives on the island with her husband and daughter. When she’s not working on her next book, she’s camping and canoeing with her family in the local mountains. Her debut novel, STILL MISSING, won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Nov...more

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“You can be as happy as you've ever been in your life, and shit is still going to happen. But it doesn't just happen. It knocks you sideways and crashes you into the ground, because you were stupid enough to believe in sunshine and roses.” — 58 people liked it

“I hate them for not being in pain like me, hate them for being able to enjoy themselves. Hate myself for feeling that way.” — 37 people liked it

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