Since Maylee was abducted from her high school the very month of graduation, her Aunt Autumn has never lost hope in finding her.It’s been three years. Autumn has finally reached inside herself and found the courage to track down an old lead, and travels across the country to find more clues about Maylee’s disappearance.But will she be able to pry Maylee’s case back open, and what will she uncover … what will she uncover in the process of searching for Maylee?
It’s a cold, dark world we live in, and Autumn is about to find out just how cruel it can be. But strength and determination are on her side, and she will do whatever it takes to deliver justice.
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“Search for Maylee” opens with the lead character Autumn, packing up her home in California and moving to Denver, Colorado to continue the search for her niece Maylee, who disappeared three years previously. Autumn is frustrated with the lack of police support and determines to find Maylee without their help.
In Denver, she befriends a great group of characters who support her in settling into her new environment. Autumn follows a new lead that increases the danger of her search, and takes the reader on an unexpected edge of the seat journey, to a heart stopping conclusion.
I read this book in one sitting, and congratulate the author on writing a first class crime thriller.
This is an impressive debut novel. It’s strengths lie in great characterisation, fantastic detailing and descriptions which enhance the reader’s experience.
Search For Maylee has much to commend it: sadness, anger, grief, fear, anxiety, the list goes on and on.
I won’t lie to you, it’s pretty grim and gut wrenchingly sad in places, and parts of it made me want to cry with the sheer terror and torment suffered by the young women, as you would expect in such abductions.
Autumn sets out to find her niece and uncovers a group of predatory and evil men. She puts herself in dangerous situations and doesn’t give up. She is one strong-willed, determined lady and I loved her for that. I particularly loved the part where she went undercover. That alone sent chills down my spine.
No spoilers, but kudos to the author for adding a touch of lightness with the developing love story between Autumn and Chance to soften the edge off some of the trauma.
The ending was bitter sweet. Personally, I don’t think it would have been right to end the narrative any other way. I can’t say anymore for fear of spoiling the story for you.
A fantastic tale, well done Didi Oviatt. I am sure I will be reading more from this author. I listened to Search For Maylee on audio and loved the Author’s About The Author page which was wonderfully recounted, so personal, giving the listener an added bonus – Didi Oviatt explains her love of writing and how she is an “unexpected novelist.”
I related to that sentiment a lot.
Rating: 5 stars. Highly recommended for readers of crime, suspense, and thriller fiction.
Review on my blog: https://mjmallon.com/2020/12/17/search-for-maylee-by-didi-oviatt-review-5stars-crime-suspense-thriller-fiction/
Overview
Didi Oviatt’s novel, Search For Maylee, is a must-read for suspense and thriller fans. I’d seen Didi’s name all over Goodreads and various blogs, finding myself curious to know more about this novelist. When I looked up her author profiles, I was surprised to see she had a few books already out in the market. I read the descriptions and settled on this one being my introduction to her canon; although I haven’t read the others yet (spoiler alert – I will be reading them) I’m confident this is the right one to start with. Wow, what a ride. And the best part, she’s a well-known blogger who you can follow on WordPress:
https://didioviatt.wordpress.com/
Book Review
The premise seems basic: Autumn’s niece was kidnapped years ago and might be dead, but Autumn won’t let it rest until she knows for sure. Nothing is ever that simple, right? With only one small clue to go on, Autumn moves away from her hometown in search of the potential lead. When she arrives, nothing goes as she expected. The detective on the case follows her. She meets a group of somewhat younger guys who really challenge her to be someone different than she’s ever been before. Then she stumbles upon something far bigger and worse than just what happened to her niece. No one ever told her life would be easy, and this becomes quite clear once she throws caution to the wind and puts herself directly in the middle of a very twisty case.
The novel begins out rather slowly telling the history of Maylee and Autumn. You grow fond of the two women, saddened over the kidnapping and loss. Readers don’t know whether Maylee is still alive or not, and they won’t find out until the very end of the novel. Didi Oviatt takes on this journey inch by inch, pulling us into the story, the search for clues, and the budding romances until somewhere around 33%, you’re suddenly pulled into this huge dramatic arc. You only learn small pieces at a time, but with each layer, you become more invested and concerned over which of Autumn’s new friends might not exactly be trustworthy.
Autumn grows in the journey. I thought she was too quiet and nervous in the beginning, but that’s what happens when someone you love is stolen. By the middle of the book, she’s the kind of person you want to have as your best friend – full of sass, humor and strength. While parts of this story are your typical kidnapping suspense and thriller ride, there are several stronger layers building in the background. When you hit the climactic scenes, which last so much longer than normal (and it’s a really good thing!), you can’t help but speed read. I had to stop myself a few times because I was skipping passages — not because I didn’t want to read them — but because I had to know if Maylee was alive. Luckily, I caught myself after the third time and went back a few pages, forcing myself to read more slowly, searching for little clues in each of Didi’s passages. I felt certain she buried hints in there. Since I won’t include any spoilers here, you’ll just have to read the novel to figure it out for yourself.
When you read this book, and you should if you like suspense, thriller or mystery fiction, sit back and enjoy the words as they are written. Great care was taken and deliberate choices were made to keep the first section of this book a bit more slower paced than a normal novel of this genre; it seems concerning at first, but that build-up is what prepares you for the fantastic explosions as they happen later on.
I am already planning to read another of her books at the end of the year as I want to see the range of her style, tone and story-telling abilities. Get on this coaster and roll with it, Baby!
Okay, so I will seriously read anything Oviatt writes! I was pulled in immediately from page one. You discover Autumn’s niece has been missing for a while and the struggle is real at finding out whether she’s dead or alive. I seriously loved Autumn and being in her head. Oviatt always writes women characters extremely well! I also loved Chance and Jeremy! This was an addicting journey that will leave you guessing until the end!