Gone again A thriller

The morning after the night Celia Guest, the protagonist of this solid psychological thriller from Kent (Unmissing), celebrated her 40th birthday with her close friends and loving husband, Rob, she begins opening her presents at her Connecticut home while Rob remains asleep. Among the cards wishing her well is an anonymous note: "You don't deserve any of this." This unsettling message prompts Celia to run away without telling Rob and disappear. Gen Jacobs, Celia's younger sister, who has wanted to form a closer bond with her sibling, sets out to find Celia. Gripping flashbacks told from both Celia's and Gen's perspectives reveal that the sisters were raised in an abusive, extremely religious household that Celia escaped from 20 years earlier while Gen quietly accepted the situation. The brisk plot and a surprising twist make up for a backstory that insufficiently explores the sisters' relationship as children and a conclusion that's a bit rushed. Never mind that some readers will unearth Celia's chilling secrets before Gen does. Those into family dramas will be satisfied. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Mar.)

A woman's disappearance unleashes a series of shocks, some of them buried for many years, from a master of dysfunctional family values. This isn't the first time Celia Guest has gone missing. As one of three daughters of Jim Fielding, a draconian police officer in Cross Beach, Florida, she tried running away from home when she was 15. Her escape lasted only a few hours before her father caught her and shipped her off to the Heavenly Soldiers Reformatory, a nightmare site where young sinners were washed clean by the Church of True Believers. The second time--her taking off from Cross Beach College and going into hiding--was much more successful except for its effect on her sisters, Genevieve and Celeste, who felt that she'd abandoned them. But the third time is the poisoned charm. The day after a 40th birthday party during which her buddies in Schofield, Connecticut, shower her with unwanted gifts to celebrate their friendship and an anonymous correspondent tells her, "YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS," she leaves a note for her significantly older husband, hospital administrator Rob Guest, assuring him that she's gone out on an errand and will return shortly, and takes off without a backward glance. To the surprise and resentment of her husband, pastor's son Brad Jacobs, Genevieve launches a frantic search for her missing sister. As Kent skips gleefully between the present and selected highlights from the sisters' pasts, Genevieve uncovers enough evidence to earn their relations a permanent spot in a chamber of horrors. So many opportunities for misdeeds that even fans will find it hard to predict the next one, or the one after that. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.