Veena’s review of Gone (Deadly Secrets, Book 2) by Elisabeth Naughton
Romantic Suspense published by Montlake Romance 10 Jan 17

This is a heart-wrenching story of a mother’s hope and a father’s guilt that breaks up their marriage after their baby daughter is abducted from a local park. When police find a four-year-old dark-haired child in the same spot, it brings Alec and Regan back together, even as DNA results prove her to be someone else’s missing child.  Get ready for an adrenaline-pumping and emotional race against time as Regan and Alec come together to uncover the truth behind their daughter’s disappearance.

Alec has overcome all the odds of his childhood to find a foster home and siblings who mean the world to him. Unfortunately, when his daughter is abducted from the park under his watch, he drowns his guilt in the bottom of a bottle and loses everything he holds dear.  Now three years later, fate gives him a second chance to rebuild and regain all that he has lost.  Is he smart enough to hold on this time around?

Even though four years have passed after the fateful events that changed her life forever, Regan has never given up hope of finding her daughter alive and well to bring her home. When a false alarm brings her back into contact with her husband, the chemistry she’s tried so hard to bury raises its head, and she soon finds her in more than a platonic relationship with the man she never stopped loving.

Alec and Regan pool their formidable skills together to begin investigating the events that took their daughter to gain closure and move on with their life.  The rising body count and attempts to hurt or injure Regan are a strong testimonial that someone does not want them to discover the truth.  The unfolding story will keep readers riveted as a murderer attempts to stay one step ahead of them by eliminating each link who might be able to provide them with answers on their path.

Grade: A

Summary:

Three years ago, Alec McClane and Raegan Devereaux lived every parent’s worst nightmare: their one-year-old daughter, Emma, was abducted from a park when Alec turned his back for just a moment. Emma was never found, and presumed dead. The crushing trauma, plus Alec’s unbearable guilt, ended the couple’s marriage.

Now a four-year-old girl matching Emma’s profile is found wandering a local park. Alec and Raegan are heartbroken to discover she’s not their daughter but are newly motivated to find closure…and each secretly feels desperate to be in the other’s presence again.

Alec suspects his vengeful biological father is behind Emma’s disappearance. But as Raegan investigates other abductions in the area, she sees a pattern—and begins to wonder if Emma’s kidnapping is actually linked to something more sinister.

As Alec and Raegan race to uncover the truth, a long-burning spark rekindles into smoldering passion, and they realize they need each other now more than ever.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: