BOOK REPORT

The Mourning Hours - Paula Treick DeBoard

Product Description(Amazon.com)
A family's loyalty is put to the ultimate test in this haunting and unforgettable debut.

Kirsten Hammarstrom hasn't been home to her tiny corner of rural Wisconsin in years-not since the mysterious disappearance of a local teenage girl rocked the town and shattered her family. Kirsten was just nine years old when Stacy Lemke went missing, and the last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Johnny-the high school wrestling star and Kirsten's older brother. No one knows what to believe-not even those closest to Johnny-but the event unhinges the quiet farming community and pins Kirsten's family beneath the crushing weight of suspicion.
Now, years later, a new tragedy forces Kirsten and her siblings to return home, where they must confront the devastating event that shifted the trajectory of their lives. Tautly written and beautifully evocative, The Mourning Hours is a gripping portrayal of a family straining against extraordinary pressure, and a powerful tale of loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book.  I'm really interested in what this new author will write about next.  I'll be watching for Paula's  next book.   This book was so absorbing in that I couldn't put it down.  I wanted to find out what happened to Stacy.  All the love and agony that this family went through is written in this book.  I could really feel the tension and the agony.  The story is told through the eyes of a 9 year old, Kirsten.  Her agony of things she should have told about what she saw leading up to the disappearance of Stacy.  Being only 9 years old at the time, she was torn between telling the cops and saving her brother.  But what could a 9 year old really tell, that she saw her brother and Stacy arguing, that they had sex in Johnny's bedroom.  These are things that a 9 year old doesn't know what to do with.  When the family comes together again they soon learn all the truth.  But I can't tell as it will give away the ending of the book.  Which was a total surprise to me!  If you have a chance to read this book, you'll really like it.