Lost and Found: A Novel

The Sara Martin Mysteries #1

by Danelle Helget

Sara is thirty years old but still afraid of the dark. And the dark of a northern Minnesota lake cabin can be intense. Was it her own fear that conjured up the ghostly image of a girl in a white dress? Scared and confused, Sara retreats to the cabin where she, her husband , Jake, and their best friends, Lily and Mark, have escaped fast-paced, hectic lives for a week of relaxation. Only something is wrong. Her worst fears are coming true.The trip is cut short, and days later, she learns no one has seen Lily since they left the cabin. After suffering from recurring nightmares, she fears may be true, Sara contacts
the police. While helping with the investigation, she finds herself falling for Derek, the handsome detective in charge of the case. Sara's heart seems to be completely out of her control. With trust and relationships under stress, Sara struggles to rebuild her life, but finds she can't . . . not until she finds Lily.

Genres: Mystery, Family

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read a book I like to know about the author, what their life is like, what they have done and where they are going. This was Danelle's first book, I think she did a great job, it was easy to read and it felt so real. I bought several copies from Danelle and she signed them and sent them to my friends and family members as far away as Australia. They all loved the book and waiting for her next book to come out. Which is very near. I believe Danelle will be a major writer one day standing next to writers like Linda Howard.

[Amy Biniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun easy read. It kept me wanting to know more and to purchase books 2 and 3. It was fun to relate to the story being from central MN myself.

[Elizabeth Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there is a mystery, Sara doesn't have much to do in 'investigating' it. I was expecting something along the lines of a Miss Marple, Goldie Schulz, or Hannah Swensen. Not to spoil the story, it was all fairly anticlimactic when the case was resolved.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

With greater access to once-secret adoption records, it's common now to hear of family reunions involving complete strangers. I think we realize there's more to the story than the gushy five-minute TV coverage. Family relationships are never that simple, are they? I read this book months ago and I have been puzzling about it ever since. On the surface it seems such an honest account, but it left me unsatisfied. Perhaps the fault is mine, but it raised more questions than it answered.

The story is simple enough. A well-to-do couple who can't have children adopt two infants girls two years apart. The father is a larger-than-life entrepreneur who flies his own plane. The mother is a devoted stay-at-home Mom. The older daughter is a stormy petrel, always pushing the envelope. The younger daughter is a quiet pleaser. When she's ten years old, the older daughter learns that they are adopted and spitefully tells her sister. Eight-year-old Kate's reaction is immediate and final. "You may be adopted, but I'm not."

The mother's explanation for not telling the girls that they were adopted is weak and not really believable. I think she was a woman who had built up a fantasy and wanted to maintain it. Many people at that time considered adoption shameful and I think she was one of them. The compliant younger girl sensed this and wanted to shield her mother, so she bought into the fantasy. The angry older daughter used the knowledge of her adoption as one of many ways to lash out at her mother. Where was the father in all this? It isn't made clear.

As the sisters grew up, the older continued to be an angry trouble-maker. Apparently she still is and the author hints that she feels her father is an enabler. The younger sister did what she was supposed to do to make her parents proud - college, law school, marriage, and two daughters of her own. By that time her mother was dead of ovarian cancer and her father re-married. Then her birth mother (Val) found her and asked for a relationship with her daughter and granddaughters.

The author did establish a relationship with Val and with her deceased birth father's family. She's emphatic that Val is a lovely woman who has made (and continues to make) great sacrifices to be part of her life. Her little girls love Grandma Val and want to include her in everything. And yet the author only reluctantly allows her mother in and never explains why.

She claims that her feelings stem from her childhood "promise" that her adoptive mother would always be her "real mom," but the explanation seems flimsy. If I read the book correctly, she has been much more welcoming to her birth father's family, although her adoptive father is still alive and very much in her life. Is it because her birth father's relatives are wealthier and more educated than her birth mother's family?

The odd "1" at the end of the title seems to imply that there will be a follow-up book. I hope so and I hope it answers some of my questions. Maybe by that time the author will have answered some of those questions herself. It would be a more satisfying book if the author revealed herself more fully. Even so, I think it's a valuable contribution. I wish everyone who's involved in an adoption could read this book. It doesn't have all the answers, but it raises some very important questions.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, Kate Vogl, has known she's adopted since she was a little girl. She has no real interest in finding her birthmom because she has a mom. As an adult, she watches her mom die from kidney failure. Soon thereafter, a women contacts her saying that she is her birth mother (Val). This is the author's story of losing her mother and gaining Val.

Kate didn't think she needed Val in her life but wanted her daughters to have a grandmother. She slowly allowed Val in her life. How would she explain this to her father? Her father acknowledged Val but asked that she not be part of "family" get dinners like Thanksgiving & Christmas. Kate has to learn how to introduce Val. As her Mom? No, she has a mother who just passed away. As her birthmom? That doesn't sound right, either. She's just Val.

Kate's family tree (before Val came in the picture) was your typical all American family. Now, there's Val with her husband & children. There's David's family (her birth father). There' Jackie's family (her Dad remarried). What a family tree now!

The part of the story where her mother dies hit home with me as I lost my mother a couple of months ago. Letting go and keeping the memories of the departed was hard for Kate (and me). It was comforting to hear her story.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell how much the author struggled with accepting her birth mother into her life and her concern that it would negate the relationship she had with her recently deceased mother. It was touching and honest.
The writing, however, was a bit difficult. Her mother was a Swede, Swedes are tough, stubborn, etc. I know this now because it was mentioned constantly in the book. This was just one of the many, many repetitive things she's write. She'd also flip-flop between the present and the past and sometimes not wrap up either topic.
The Kindle version was horrible. Words were some-times hyphenated when they didn't need to be or there would be a complete line break between the first and sec-

ond part of the hyphen (see, annoying!). Chapters would start wherever they felt like it but usually at the very bottom of a page. I blame today's headache on "to get her" instead of "together". And I normally love photos in books but these were downright creepy. They were blurry and looked like negatives - making a blended family look like they're the characters in a Stephen King novel. I honestly doubt anyone looked at the kindle version before submitting it. At least it was free.

[Terri Tinkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another free book on Kindle. I wanted to enjoy this story and I did like parts of it. I have to say that the editing or lack thereof in the Kindle version really put me off. Chapters started anywhere on the page, often the page sizes were different and words would be started on one line and then shifted to the middle of the next line. It was difficult for me to keep all the people and names straight. Underneath it all was a story of a birth mother who found her grown daughter after the adoptive mother had passed away. There appeared to be plenty of love to go around even though it was hard to figure out which person belonged to which family...the birth family...the adoptive family...the husband's extended family and even some of the friends along the way.

I will say the portion of the book where the writer explains how hard it is to rewrite and re-edit your story struck home with me. She really expressed the difficulties of telling your story and then hoping for favorable feedback.

If you have an interest in adoption and what can happen; this might be of interest to you.

[Salela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story, so important to tell, is written in a very tedious style. Her story could have been told in a more compact form, getting at the critical aspects of why this reunion story is important to tell without the constant dull details of daily life. While some if that is essential to setting the framework of author and who she us as a person, her personification of people is very two dimensional. I really don't feel she has truly let the reader in. Also, her treatment of a Val, both literary and real seems very cold. I may not finish this as the writing style is not inspiring.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about adoption. The writing was disjointed and didn't flow. Random stories moving back and forth between past and present. Kindle version was awful. Being adopted I know this was a hard story for her to tell.

[Mike Kalmbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come soon.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doesn't live up to the expectations presented by the blurb and the reviews.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely portrayal of the complexity of being an adopted adult discovered by her birth mother and an intense look at what it means to be a mother.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy fast read with a good story. Nothing too deep.

[Kimberly Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm from central MN so I could relate to the towns Sara talked about :) Great story that was a fast and easy read.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new author who is local to me. I really got into the story quickly and thought it was very exciting. I couldn't put it down.

[Karen Fiandaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An angst filled memoir of being adopted ,losing a mother and finding birthmother. Well written.