On a beautiful fall evening, in the middle of a game of hide-and-seek, five-year-old Bobby Clark is kidnapped by his estranged father, a shiftless man with a history of domestic violence and drug abuse. Bobby’s twin brother Ricky watches, terrified, from his hiding place behind the bougainvillea, while mother Tabby, who also struggles with addiction, lies inebriated on the living room floor.
… floor.
Bobby isn’t seen by his loved ones again until a fateful morning twenty-five years later, when video of his arrest dominates the morning news. He has been charged with the murder of his father, but before the trial can begin, he manages to escape.
As Tabby and Ricky absorb the news of Bobby’s return and subsequent escape, Tabby is convinced he’ll come home to the quiet Florida street from which he was taken so long ago. But when events begin to spiral out of control, she’s left to wonder: is a child born to be evil, or shaped to be evil? And in the end, when it’s time to make amends, does it really matter?
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This review is for the audio book.
This is a different book for me to listen to but I really enjoyed it, mainly I think because it was so different. The story is told by a number of the characters, so jumps around a bit but I think this really works well for the story. It did tug on the heartstrings having one of the characters suffering from Alzheimer’s but In a way it gave the story more impact and is a story that make you grateful for what you had. It was a well crafted plot and for a hard topic it was a griping read that had me hooked, wondering how it was going to end and with a number of twists it sure keeps you guessing.
What is it like to go on living when you are only half of a whole? That is the dilemma facing Ricky and his mother Tabby. Ricky brother is kidnapped by an abusive father and is never seen again. That is until 25 years later they get a phone call telling them that Bobby has been arrested for killing his father and before they can go through the whole family reunion Bobby goes on the run. Will he had straight back to the family he lost? Or has that little lost boy gone for ever?
I really like the narrator she builds up the feeling of guilt and tension well until you find yourself sat on the edge of your seat.
Making Amends by Melinda Clayton, Narrated Michelle Babb
After being missing for twenty-five years Bobby Clark turns up on the news for killing his father, the same father that took Bobby away from his mother Tabby and twin brother Ricky. Tabby Clark can hardly believe her son is still alive and living only a few hours away from her. She has dreamed of the day she would find her son, but finding him this way was not how she saw their reunion. Ricky ,forever living in the shadow of his brother, is dealing with the news of his brother’s re-appearance in his own way, he doesn’t see Bobby as the angel from their mother’s memories. Where has Bobby been for twenty-five years? Why didn’t he come back home to find Tabby and Ricky once he was an adult? Did he kill his father in self-defense or did he murder him in cold blood? Who is the real Bobby Clark?
This is a story that comes from the nightmares of mothers, having a child taken from you. Tabby feels she is to blame for her son’s disappearance. This book deals with kidnapping and the effect of the family that is left behind, always wondering where their family member is or if they are still alive and how the family is stuck never able to truly move on with their lives. The book also it deals with other hard life issues such as drug and alcohol dependence, Alzheimer’s, and broken families. On the positive side the book shows real friendship, being there for someone one when they need you, helping someone up when they don’t think they can do anything on their own, and what it means to truly love someone whether it;s a mother and child or husband and wife.
Author Melinda Clayton did a fabulous job writing this book. The book is well paced, and she does a great job bringing in some comic relief to lighten up some very dark topics. The story is realistic, I could see this story coming straight from the news headlines.
Narrator Michelle Babb give a wonderful performance bringing the story and the characters to life. She helps you to feel compassion for what the family has gone through and continue to go through. You feel as if you are right there watching Tabby, Ricky, Bobby, Vonda, and Ben going through their life’s ups and downs.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes psychological thrillers.