Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

"On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-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 with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel."

Chevy Steven's debut novel is not to be missed. A cleverly written psychological thriller based on stranger abduction, Annie's story unfolds through a series of sessions with her psychologist.

Realtor Annie O'Sullivan is just about to close the house she's showing, when a man appears in a van. He seems nice, he says he has a dog and he's willing to pay cash for the right house. He can't be that bad, right? Wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

Annie wakes up in a remote mountain cabin, taken by a man she calls The Freak. She must quickly learn his many rules, what makes him angry, what appeases him. He says he wants to protect her from the world and the people in her life. She just wants to get the hell out of there. But there is NO way out. She is kidnapped and imprisoned with a psychotic monster, forced to endure a new level of hell as each day passes.

As the details of the kidnapping and Annie's year with The Freak are revealed, a psychological horror story emerges. The idea of it - of being taken from your life - while going about your daily business is so horribly real, it adds another element of fright to the book. It could happen to anyone. The details are so disturbing, but I couldn't put it down.

The book not only deals with Annie's kidnapping and her year in captivity, but also with the after-effects as Annie struggles to re-enter society and permit herself release from The Freak's rules.

I can't say enough about this book. I've just finished my second read. The scenario is horrible to comprehend, at times extremely difficult to read, yet worth every horror-filled page, as it draws to a stunning close. Chevy Stevens is an amazing author, who will leave you thinking about her book long after you've finished it.

-Aili