Missing Max~Review

Not long ago I had a chance to listen to Missing Max by by Karen Young and read by Laural Merlington.This is the second book from Oasis Audio that I have had the opportunity to review. Missing Max is the story of six month old baby Max who is kidnapped during Mardi Gras while in the care of his older sister Melanie.  The only thing left behind were his stroller and one shoe.  Panic ensues, the police are called and everyone searches frantically for Max.  The investigation continues and life goes on for Jane and Kyle Madison their relationship becomes strained to the point of breaking. They are brought to the brink of hope when they are called several different times when a child is found that has similar features of Max only to realize that each child is not theirs. Melanie deals with the loss of her baby brother and the strain of her parents seemingly broken relationship with some explosive, jaw dropping news of her own.  Things soon take a downward spiral and everything starts to go wrong. 

This is the first book I have read by Karen Young and I enjoyed her writing style. Laural Merlington does an excellent job of narrating this story and the different voices she used for all the characters were excellent.

I thought this book had a very real feel to it. Kidnappings can and do happen everyday. Parents go through the horrors of loosing a child. I cannot imagine a nightmare such as not knowing where your child is. Ms. Young does a great job of relating what the characters are feeling. Their loss, their ability (or inability) to cope with such loss. Their struggle with trying to live as normally as possible and getting through each day. The strain such a traumatic event causes within a marriage and a family. I liked the way this book did not just focus on the mother Jane but gave you a clear understanding of how each family member was effected by the loss of Max.  How the choices we make effect others very deeply. How we can be so wrapped up in our pain that we cannot at times see what another family member is going that they are struggling with guilt and asking those if only questions. 

You see Jane as she struggles with God and why something like this can occur.  And yet as she asks these questions she becomes closer to God and ultimately leans on Him.

I found this book an enjoyable and good read. The suspense keeps you reading. The characters and events are believable. You see that the choices you make have lasting and sometimes irreversible consequences.

 

Disclosure: I received this Missing Max audiobook free of charge in exchange for my review from Oasis Audio. The reviews expressed both in this review and blog are strictly my own. I was not required to write a positive review