Yesterday's Gone

Two Daughters #1

by Janice Kay Johnson

Tomorrow’s a new beginning…

When a digitally aged photo of a girl named Hope Lawson is posted online, Bailey Smith can't deny the similarity to herself. But could she really be the same woman who was abducted as a child twenty-three years ago?

When she meets Detective Seth Chandler, who opened the cold case of Hope’s disappearance, suddenly everything changes. Not only does Bailey have a family she barely remembers — and a sister she’s never met — she’s connecting with a man for the first time. A man who’s loving and gentle. But Bailey’s not sure she’s ready to be by him or the parents she once lost.

Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2015

About the author

Janice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!

Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.

She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!

Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!

Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Bailey Smith sees an age-progressed photo of a girl named Hope Lawson online, she wonders if she could be that girl that was abducted twenty-three years ago when she was six years old. Bailey leaves L.A. for Washington seeking answers from Police Detective Seth Chandler who opened the cold case. There she meets the parents she grew up without and who are strangers to her now, and an adopted sister who seems like a replacement daughter to the Lawsons. Bailey also finds love with Seth along the way.

A very emotional and compelling story that's so much more than just a romance, but a family drama as well. Bailey's parents have been waiting for this moment for twenty-three years and Bailey feels smothered with their need to get to know her (in particular, Bailey's mother). Bailey is uncomfortable at first because these people are strangers to her that she can't remember. Also, Bailey feels the resentment coming from sister Eve, since Eve now feels like second best since the "real" daughter has returned home. Then there's the press hounding Bailey since she's the celebrity of the moment. A fascinating story that featured a wonderful cast of characters including Bailey's family. I'm looking forward to reading Eve's story soon. An interesting premise for a very enjoyable book.

[Kate Vale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Lawson calls herself Bailey Smith after she is kidnapped by a pedophile when she is six. After enduring 6 years of hell, he leaves her and 23 years after her abduction, someone spots a photo of her that has been digitally aged, claiming it's her. When she meets the detective who has opened the cold case, Bailey is taken to her original family, whose members she doesn't remember. Also there is a sister, adopted years after Bailey disappeared. But are they really sisters, when one of them is the "real" daughter, the other one a replacement for Bailey's heartbroken parents?

Bailey isn't sure she can be Hope again, but she feels an attraction to the man she never expected, particularly since her prior experience with a man has been so traumatic. Over the weeks when she attempts to get to know her parents, she also begins to understand herself, but does she dare to think these new relationships will endure when she returns to LA to finish her degree and resume her waitressing job? And what about Seth Chandler's plan to seek Bailey's help when he finds another victim of the man who had first victimized Hope?

A story that will grab you from the first page and not let go, even at the last page.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Bates put one of Johnson's books on her best of 2015 list, so I thought I'd check her out. Read this book and its sequel, and really enjoyed them both. This one focuses on a police detective who investigates cold cases. The woman he's been casually dating mentions that her parents adopted her after their biological daughter mysteriously disappeared, and he decides to pursue the case. And fairly early on in the book, the publicity he's raised around the case bring the missing girl back to town, twenty years after she went missing. I really liked how the book dealt with the emotions of all the parties involved: the missing girl, whose experiences at the hands of her kidnapper, and later, in foster care, make her wildly uncomfortable stepping into a loving family; the mom, who assumes everything will be fine now that her first daughter has been recovered; the adopted sister, who struggles with her own issues of inadequacy and abandonment; the detective, who falls for the lost sister almost on sight, but whose feelings grow deeper as he gets to know her. Johnson clearly knows how to create convincing, layered characters, even when starting from a ripped-from-the-headlines premise.

[GayLauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janice Kay Johnson has the ability to take situations that most of us (thankfully) only hear about in the news and then build a story using that news item as a basic starting point. Her always thoughtful exploration of what happens during and after the event and how this impacts on her protagonists, their families, friends, colleagues ensures we have a story where the characters behave like real people. The book description given above provides a fair summary of the situation Bailey and Seth finds themselves in and the romance builds naturally as the H/h (and their family members) face the implications of what Bailey/Hope's return means for her and her family. Another absorbing read from JKJ.

[Anne Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather lovely read, featuring some disturbing subject matter, but sensitively handled and not exploitative. The romance is sweet and realistic, and the two mains are likeable and, well, great. Problems and issues are handled in an adult manner, and not so rushed and ridiculously as you might see in some category romances; the length and honesty helps here, a lot. Legal aspects got wrapped up rather speedily, but sometimes fiction and an HEA requires a bit of jerry-rigging, right? Secondary characters are generally nice, though I am not sure the sister attracted me enough to read her story. Genuinely touching, and got me involved in the lives unfolding in front of me on the page. Yes, a rather lovely read, indeed.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Two Daughters