It begins with Nick Hansen noticing a young woman who resembles his college girlfriend, Marissa Minor, while he shops at his local grocery store. Marissa died in a fire twenty years before and this young woman with her face and mannerisms takes him by surprise. She rushes off when he approaches her, and is found dead in her hotel room the following morning with Nick’s name and phone number on a scrap of paper in her pocket.
When Nick becomes a person of interest in this young woman’s (Emily) murder, he enlists the help of several friends as he begins an investigation to clear himself and find out why Emily was looking for him, and why she ran away. While Nick is an engaging protagonist, his obsession with the long gone Marissa seems odd, and his on again, off again relationship with Heather (a college friend of his and Marissa’s) seems too contrived.
Bell brings in an aging dog and an adorable stepson to add to Nick’s appeal, and the reader can’t help but liking him as he blunders into one predicament after another. While the book has its flaws, I did enjoy it and recommend it as a fun vacation read.
- Beverly
Publisher - Berkley
Date of Publication - July 7, 2015