Never Missing, Never Found by Amanda Panitch Quickish Book Review

BLURB

A juicy thriller about a girl who returned from the missing. . . . Hand to fans of We Were Liars, Bone Gap, and Vanishing Girls.

Some choices change everything. Scarlett chose to run. And the consequences will be deadly.

Stolen from her family as a young girl, Scarlett was lucky enough to eventually escape her captor. Now a teen, she's starting a summer job at an amusement park. There are cute boys, new friends, and the chance to finally have a normal life.

Her first day on the job, Scarlett is shocked to discover that a girl from the park has gone missing. Old memories come rushing back. And now as she meets her new coworkers, one of the girls seems strangely familiar. When Scarlett chose to run all those years ago, what did she set into motion? And when push comes to shove, how far will she go to uncover the truth . . . before it's too late?

REVIEW

FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS

I'm sorry. I don't care what anyone says, Amanda Panitch, writes YA mystery the way it's supposed to be done.

Never Missing Never Found tells the story of Scarlett, a girl who's attempting to go back to her normal life after spending a large chunk of her childhood with a kidnapper. From the ages of about 8-15 Scarlett, lives with her captor--thinking her family doesn't want her, and never knowing the truth.

One day she gets away, and things are back to fairly normal. She gets a job at an amusement park, a boy actually likes her--her brother still adores her. It's okay, well aside from the fact that her sister hates her, and she's still feeling the residuals of being kidnapped--oh and now another girl is missing.

Things get pretty crazy for Scarlett, what, with another girl being missing. But what I really liked is how she was able to deal with everything. It's pretty much a realistic tale of a girl being returned after being stolen--but with the most crazy twist at the end.

It's always so hard to write reviews for mysteries, because you want to tell everything, but you can't tell everything. I will say this, though, sure the story seems a little dull initially--but by the end you'll be satisfied, especially if like me, you didn't see it coming. 

Panitch, has a way with twisting a story, and make her characters unreliable--which I tend to like in my mysteries. I just like the way she does this mystery thing. Her characters are suspicious, and the endings are always delicious.

I'm sure a lot of you won't be impressed because well it tends to go that way. But if you liked Damage Done, you'll love Never Missing, Never Found. I sure did.