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Until I Find You: A Novel
In Until I Find You, celebrated author Rea Frey brings you her most explosive, emotional, taut domestic drama yet about the powerful bond between mothers and children…and how far one woman will go to bring her son home.
"Frey is a rising star in the suspense scene" - Booklist
2 floors. 55 steps to go up. 40 more to the crib.
Since Rebecca Gray was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease, everything in her life consists of numbers. Each day her world grows a little darker and each step becomes a little more dangerous.
Following days of feeling like someone’s watching her, Rebecca awakes at home to the cries of her son in his nursery. When it’s clear he’s not going to settle, Rebecca goes to check on him.
She reaches in. Picks him up.
But he’s not her son.
And no one believes her.
One woman’s desperate search for her son . . .
In a world where seeing is believing, Rebecca must rely on her own conviction and a mother’s instinct to uncover the truth about what happened to her baby and bring him home for good.
"Completely captivating, utterly compelling...a must read!" - Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of The Two Lila Bennetts
"Frey is a rising star in the suspense scene" - Booklist
2 floors. 55 steps to go up. 40 more to the crib.
Since Rebecca Gray was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease, everything in her life consists of numbers. Each day her world grows a little darker and each step becomes a little more dangerous.
Following days of feeling like someone’s watching her, Rebecca awakes at home to the cries of her son in his nursery. When it’s clear he’s not going to settle, Rebecca goes to check on him.
She reaches in. Picks him up.
But he’s not her son.
And no one believes her.
One woman’s desperate search for her son . . .
In a world where seeing is believing, Rebecca must rely on her own conviction and a mother’s instinct to uncover the truth about what happened to her baby and bring him home for good.
"Completely captivating, utterly compelling...a must read!" - Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of The Two Lila Bennetts
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 11, 2020
131 people are currently reading
6879 people want to read
About the author
Rea Frey
16 books1,006 followersRea Frey is the #1 bestselling author of several suspense, thriller, and contemporary fiction novels.
Known as The Book Doula, Rea helps other writers birth their books into the world. To learn more, visit reafrey.com
Known as The Book Doula, Rea helps other writers birth their books into the world. To learn more, visit reafrey.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 620 reviews
August 11, 2020
I'm definitely in the minority with my rating of Until I Find You, so I encourage readers of this review to check out more reviews before they make a decision on whether or not to read this book. I think it wasn't right for me. I couldn't turn off my critical mind and go with the story.
Rebecca Gray slowly went blind in her mid twenties. About twelve years later, she is a new widow, whose mom has just died, and the mother of a three month old baby boy. The book opens with Bec making her daily trek to the park where she meets with other mothers and babies. She knows that someone is stalking her, she can feel it. Luckily she has a photographic memory, which serves her well, making every path she has traveled a memory that she can follow, the next time she covers that ground.
Once Bec gets home, she knows that someone is or has been in her house. Later she bumps into things, in her house, that have been moved from the place she had put them. Is extreme grief and sleep deprivations causing Bec to experience out of control paranoia? Despite her fears and certainty that things are not right, that someone is following her and entering her home, Bec refuses anything but token help. Rather than let others check out her house, she does it herself, sticking her cane in closets and calling out to the stalker. When friends offer to walk her home or give her a ride, she refuses. Finally, after an outing in the park, when she faints, and later recovers, she is sure that her three month old son has been swapped with another baby.
Throughout the next few days, when Bec gets frustrated, angry, tired of waiting for the police to practice the protocol for this type of incident, Bec will grab the baby (or not) and her cane and stomp out of the house, night or day. She stomps to the park to "search" for clues, or around the neighborhood, or sometimes even just stomps out of the house and gets no farther. Bec is a strong woman to have navigated the troublesome events of her life so well, to this point, but I think her acts of stubbornness and impetuousness didn't sit well with me. It's one thing to go charging (literally) blindly around town, but she doesn't seem to have the immediate welfare of the baby that is with her, in mind.
Publication date: August 11, 2020.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Rebecca Gray slowly went blind in her mid twenties. About twelve years later, she is a new widow, whose mom has just died, and the mother of a three month old baby boy. The book opens with Bec making her daily trek to the park where she meets with other mothers and babies. She knows that someone is stalking her, she can feel it. Luckily she has a photographic memory, which serves her well, making every path she has traveled a memory that she can follow, the next time she covers that ground.
Once Bec gets home, she knows that someone is or has been in her house. Later she bumps into things, in her house, that have been moved from the place she had put them. Is extreme grief and sleep deprivations causing Bec to experience out of control paranoia? Despite her fears and certainty that things are not right, that someone is following her and entering her home, Bec refuses anything but token help. Rather than let others check out her house, she does it herself, sticking her cane in closets and calling out to the stalker. When friends offer to walk her home or give her a ride, she refuses. Finally, after an outing in the park, when she faints, and later recovers, she is sure that her three month old son has been swapped with another baby.
Throughout the next few days, when Bec gets frustrated, angry, tired of waiting for the police to practice the protocol for this type of incident, Bec will grab the baby (or not) and her cane and stomp out of the house, night or day. She stomps to the park to "search" for clues, or around the neighborhood, or sometimes even just stomps out of the house and gets no farther. Bec is a strong woman to have navigated the troublesome events of her life so well, to this point, but I think her acts of stubbornness and impetuousness didn't sit well with me. It's one thing to go charging (literally) blindly around town, but she doesn't seem to have the immediate welfare of the baby that is with her, in mind.
Publication date: August 11, 2020.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
September 26, 2020
Bring out your tissues and get ready to be highly tensed! This book may rock your world and break your heart at the same time!
This story wrenched, ached and hurt my heart deeply. Rebecca (Bec) Gray, widowed mother suffers from degenerative disease and loses her vision, and the darkness grows and seeps through her life, slowly destroys everything she worked on. And she has responsibility of her three month old baby Jackson. She needs to accept more help! How can she handle all those burdens and move on her life? And the worst part starts one day at the park, she thinks her baby replaced with other one but when she informs the authorities, nobody believes her. But a mother always knows. This is instinctive! When you give birth to a child you share a sacred place from your soul and your heart with him/her. This unique bond will always stay between a mother and child.
Does Bec suffer from another psychological illness called Capgras delusion (Cotard’s syndrome): people who experience it will have an irrational belief that someone they know or recognize has been replaced by an imposter. It can be associated with brain injury, schizophrenia and Alzheimer. But Rebecca only loses her vision not also her mind! At least we want to believe in her story and root for her from the beginning.
We’re also introduced with Crystal who lives a few blocks away, recently widowed, raising her ten year old daughter Savi and their nanny Pam. She and Bec form a genuine friendship at their grief support meetings. She is the other narrator of the story, suffering from depression and loss. She and daughter try to help Rebecca, supporting her even though they seem suspicious about her declarations about her replaced son story.
I liked the idea of the plot and gripping, depressing, dark atmosphere of the story but there are so much repeating which ruined the building mystery a little. The ending was still great but some parts are predictable. It was still emotional, terrifying, tear jerking, provocative and effective story about grief, friendship, loneliness, motherhood, depression. The conclusion was satisfying and writing was riveting.
I cut some points for plot holes and illogical parts (Forensics may solve the problem by blood test to make sure Rebecca was not delusional.) and repeating drama. But I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 because of the promising plot and great outcome of the story.
I’m looking forward to read more books of the author.
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this heart wrenching ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
This story wrenched, ached and hurt my heart deeply. Rebecca (Bec) Gray, widowed mother suffers from degenerative disease and loses her vision, and the darkness grows and seeps through her life, slowly destroys everything she worked on. And she has responsibility of her three month old baby Jackson. She needs to accept more help! How can she handle all those burdens and move on her life? And the worst part starts one day at the park, she thinks her baby replaced with other one but when she informs the authorities, nobody believes her. But a mother always knows. This is instinctive! When you give birth to a child you share a sacred place from your soul and your heart with him/her. This unique bond will always stay between a mother and child.
Does Bec suffer from another psychological illness called Capgras delusion (Cotard’s syndrome): people who experience it will have an irrational belief that someone they know or recognize has been replaced by an imposter. It can be associated with brain injury, schizophrenia and Alzheimer. But Rebecca only loses her vision not also her mind! At least we want to believe in her story and root for her from the beginning.
We’re also introduced with Crystal who lives a few blocks away, recently widowed, raising her ten year old daughter Savi and their nanny Pam. She and Bec form a genuine friendship at their grief support meetings. She is the other narrator of the story, suffering from depression and loss. She and daughter try to help Rebecca, supporting her even though they seem suspicious about her declarations about her replaced son story.
I liked the idea of the plot and gripping, depressing, dark atmosphere of the story but there are so much repeating which ruined the building mystery a little. The ending was still great but some parts are predictable. It was still emotional, terrifying, tear jerking, provocative and effective story about grief, friendship, loneliness, motherhood, depression. The conclusion was satisfying and writing was riveting.
I cut some points for plot holes and illogical parts (Forensics may solve the problem by blood test to make sure Rebecca was not delusional.) and repeating drama. But I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 because of the promising plot and great outcome of the story.
I’m looking forward to read more books of the author.
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this heart wrenching ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
August 15, 2020
WOW! This book was SO addictive, could not tear myself away! OK before I get to the book I want to share something about myself that many of you don’t know. Like the MC in this book Rebecca I also have a degenerative eye disease. I have been losing my sight slowly since the age of 10, I am now 50 so it’s been a slow process. Also like Becca I am a mother, but when my kids were babies my vision was not as bad as hers in this book. The reason I share this is because it is very rare that you read about a main character who is blind and if there is a blind character they are usually NOT accurately depicted. Rea Frey really did her homework and I applaud her depiction of Rebecca in this book. Like Becca I can be stubborn and probably frustrating to those that care about me when it comes to help. I appreciated how strong and independent she was, Blind/visually impaired people are able to do much more than people give them credit for. Now I do have to say it wasn’t perfect. There were a few little technical things that I did notice, but only somebody who deals with voiceover technology on their phone will notice that. Also before I get to the book *finally* I just want to clarify some things after reading some reviews. When a blind mother goes home from the hospital with her baby they don’t send a social worker, they are completely capable of taking care of their child just like you. Also just because someone’s lying doesn’t mean they’re helpless, they’re as unlikely to ask for help as anyone else, maybe even less so. Additionally the blind/visually impaired have an unemployment rate of 70% and on average get $767 a month disability from the government. I just have to say it is a shame we do not take better care of the disabled population in this country. *steps off soapbox*
This was a tension filled domestic thriller that gripped me from the very first page. My heart was racing as Becca navigated through the park thinking someone was following her. My heart broke when Becca discovered the baby in the crib was not hers. And I was frustrated right alongside Becca as everyone didn’t seem to believe that this was not her baby. This is a book about the strength of the mother child Bon and Becca was not the only mom whose story was told in the book. We also get the perspective of Crystal... becca and Crystal met at grief group having both lost their husbands within the past year. Crystal is the mother to a precocious 10-year-old daughter. Crystal is a good friend to Rebecca, but Crystal is hiding something. The tension was seriously ramped up the entire book. I needed Becca to be believed and her baby to be found. I also needed to know what in the world Crystal was hiding. Not sure if I’d called this a thriller or not but I was definitely riveted! The audio was narrated by Samantha Desz Who did a stellar job of tightening the tension in the story. An addictive story with an ending I’m still thinking about.
This book in emojis 👩🏻🦯 👶🏼 🏘 🔔 🍼 ☕️ 📱
*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
This was a tension filled domestic thriller that gripped me from the very first page. My heart was racing as Becca navigated through the park thinking someone was following her. My heart broke when Becca discovered the baby in the crib was not hers. And I was frustrated right alongside Becca as everyone didn’t seem to believe that this was not her baby. This is a book about the strength of the mother child Bon and Becca was not the only mom whose story was told in the book. We also get the perspective of Crystal... becca and Crystal met at grief group having both lost their husbands within the past year. Crystal is the mother to a precocious 10-year-old daughter. Crystal is a good friend to Rebecca, but Crystal is hiding something. The tension was seriously ramped up the entire book. I needed Becca to be believed and her baby to be found. I also needed to know what in the world Crystal was hiding. Not sure if I’d called this a thriller or not but I was definitely riveted! The audio was narrated by Samantha Desz Who did a stellar job of tightening the tension in the story. An addictive story with an ending I’m still thinking about.
This book in emojis 👩🏻🦯 👶🏼 🏘 🔔 🍼 ☕️ 📱
*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
September 9, 2021
***HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY***
The premise of a baby being switched and a mother believing that this is not her child, is not a new one. In this novel, what makes it unique, is that the mother in question is blind.
Rebecca has certainly been through a lot. Her husband died before Jackson was born and she was relying heavily on support from her mother. A few months later, her mother passes away. So we have a mother who is losing her vision, is almost totally blind, and is trying to care for a newborn by herself.
Rebecca has been struggling but because she is living in her mother’s house, she knows her way around quite well. She has even been going to a mother’s support group in a nearby park. On one such meeting Bec has a fainting spell, falls and hits her head. She is hurt, bleeding, but refuses to go to the hospital. Her friend Crystal insists that she stay at her home for a few hours and get some sleep.
O.K., that is the primary set up. What happens after is the main storyline. When she goes to pick up Jackson from his crib, she knows it is not her baby. Of course any mother would know her own baby, even one who is blind. We know every inch of our baby’s body even though he may look similar to another baby. Each baby’s cry is unique, their smell, their feel!
From here we follow Bec’s efforts to get someone to believe her that her baby has been swapped for another. Even her friends doubt her because they aren’t quite sure that the baby isn’t Jackson.(Quite hard to believe that these friends can’t tell the difference in her baby??) She finally gets support from her ex boyfriend who is a homicide detective. I’m not going to go through the story because that would be a spoiler.
I didn't feel the empathy, etc that I should have felt for Bec. Her constantly resisting help when she so obviously needed it didn't make sense. I would think in real life there would have been social workers involved and help would have been recommended.
Her ex boyfriend suddenly is around to help her identify the baby who is not Jackson using the newest technology, he is a homicide detective. I think a simple blood test would have given her the proof that she needed.
The ending was too perfect and didn’t tie up a lot of loose threads that were introduced. Examples, her fainting spells, because there was more than one; the fact that she thought she was being followed; the over the top actions of a troubled child.
This novel is a quick read and I would almost categorize it more as chick-lit than mystery/thriller. There is a mystery but the main focus of the story is, can a blind mother care for her newborn alone with no help?
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The novel is set to publish on August 11, 2020
The premise of a baby being switched and a mother believing that this is not her child, is not a new one. In this novel, what makes it unique, is that the mother in question is blind.
Rebecca has certainly been through a lot. Her husband died before Jackson was born and she was relying heavily on support from her mother. A few months later, her mother passes away. So we have a mother who is losing her vision, is almost totally blind, and is trying to care for a newborn by herself.
Rebecca has been struggling but because she is living in her mother’s house, she knows her way around quite well. She has even been going to a mother’s support group in a nearby park. On one such meeting Bec has a fainting spell, falls and hits her head. She is hurt, bleeding, but refuses to go to the hospital. Her friend Crystal insists that she stay at her home for a few hours and get some sleep.
O.K., that is the primary set up. What happens after is the main storyline. When she goes to pick up Jackson from his crib, she knows it is not her baby. Of course any mother would know her own baby, even one who is blind. We know every inch of our baby’s body even though he may look similar to another baby. Each baby’s cry is unique, their smell, their feel!
From here we follow Bec’s efforts to get someone to believe her that her baby has been swapped for another. Even her friends doubt her because they aren’t quite sure that the baby isn’t Jackson.(Quite hard to believe that these friends can’t tell the difference in her baby??) She finally gets support from her ex boyfriend who is a homicide detective. I’m not going to go through the story because that would be a spoiler.
I didn't feel the empathy, etc that I should have felt for Bec. Her constantly resisting help when she so obviously needed it didn't make sense. I would think in real life there would have been social workers involved and help would have been recommended.
Her ex boyfriend suddenly is around to help her identify the baby who is not Jackson using the newest technology, he is a homicide detective. I think a simple blood test would have given her the proof that she needed.
The ending was too perfect and didn’t tie up a lot of loose threads that were introduced. Examples, her fainting spells, because there was more than one; the fact that she thought she was being followed; the over the top actions of a troubled child.
This novel is a quick read and I would almost categorize it more as chick-lit than mystery/thriller. There is a mystery but the main focus of the story is, can a blind mother care for her newborn alone with no help?
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The novel is set to publish on August 11, 2020
August 14, 2020
Imagine that you have slowly lost your sight, then your husband and on top of it all, your baby is crying, you go to pick him up to comfort him, but the baby you are holding is not yours! Not only that, no one believes you! Friends think you are stressed out, exhausted, etc. But you know your own child, you have been feeling as if someone has been following you, things have been moved in your home, etc.
Bec goes through a string of emotions when she discovers that her son is gone. No one believes her and she goes on a mission to find out the truth and naturally to find her missing son.
This was slow to start for me, but then picked up as Bec and her friend Crystal's friendship and stories were told. I flipped back and forth with my feelings for the book. Bec's friends all thought she needed more help, she was losing her sight, lost her husband and her mother in a close amount of time and was raising a newborn. Who would not need help in that situation? But at the same time, she was resilient and showed determination and strength. Plus, she wanted her son back. Her Friends and ex-boyfriend, although skeptical do try to help. Did things get a little repetitive? Yes, but there was the emotional aspect of the book, the feelings expressed, and the search for her missing son. With, this is one that I can say that I liked but did not love. I cannot quite put my finger on what would have made me enjoy this book more, besides not feeling very connected to the characters. It is still enjoyable, and I look forward to more books by this Author.
I am teetering between a 3 and a 3.5 for this one.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Bec goes through a string of emotions when she discovers that her son is gone. No one believes her and she goes on a mission to find out the truth and naturally to find her missing son.
This was slow to start for me, but then picked up as Bec and her friend Crystal's friendship and stories were told. I flipped back and forth with my feelings for the book. Bec's friends all thought she needed more help, she was losing her sight, lost her husband and her mother in a close amount of time and was raising a newborn. Who would not need help in that situation? But at the same time, she was resilient and showed determination and strength. Plus, she wanted her son back. Her Friends and ex-boyfriend, although skeptical do try to help. Did things get a little repetitive? Yes, but there was the emotional aspect of the book, the feelings expressed, and the search for her missing son. With, this is one that I can say that I liked but did not love. I cannot quite put my finger on what would have made me enjoy this book more, besides not feeling very connected to the characters. It is still enjoyable, and I look forward to more books by this Author.
I am teetering between a 3 and a 3.5 for this one.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 15, 2020
Rea Frey is back with another emotional thriller winner!
Bec, a new widow and young mom, has a degenerative eye disease, so each day, it gets worse.
One night, Bec wakes to her young son crying. She goes to the nursery to soothe him, only it’s not her son. She knows this with all of her heart, but no one believes her. Where is her son?
Until I Find You has Frey’s trademark tension throughout. I was stressed out alongside Bec wondering where her son was. The author did a great job capturing Bec’s perspective through her senses.
All in all, there’s lots of drama, a super quick pace, a storyline that kept me guessing, and I love Bec’s character. Until I Find You is a tense, dramatic, dynamic mystery thriller.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Bec, a new widow and young mom, has a degenerative eye disease, so each day, it gets worse.
One night, Bec wakes to her young son crying. She goes to the nursery to soothe him, only it’s not her son. She knows this with all of her heart, but no one believes her. Where is her son?
Until I Find You has Frey’s trademark tension throughout. I was stressed out alongside Bec wondering where her son was. The author did a great job capturing Bec’s perspective through her senses.
All in all, there’s lots of drama, a super quick pace, a storyline that kept me guessing, and I love Bec’s character. Until I Find You is a tense, dramatic, dynamic mystery thriller.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
August 21, 2020
This was an empowering glimpse into the life of a young mother who has had to undergo horrific loss. She, Rebecca, has just lost her mother and husband within months of each other and also has a degenerative eye disease which means she is slowly losing her sight. Wracked by grief, she soldiers on, confident in the love and protection she gives to her tiny son. Jackson is only a baby, but he is perfectly happy and healthy. The only thing that can unsettle her is of course what happens.
Until I Find You is a quick read. I had to know what happened to this little family. The only drawbacks I found were the red herrings that really don't lead anywhere, but tend to lend credence to the doubters in Rebecca's life.
Until I Find You is a quick read. I had to know what happened to this little family. The only drawbacks I found were the red herrings that really don't lead anywhere, but tend to lend credence to the doubters in Rebecca's life.
July 31, 2024
This was my second Rea Frey book and all I can say is she has managed yet again to write a quite delightful psychological thriller that kept me guessing. Rebecca is blind, having lost her sight several years earlier. She also has recently lost both her husband and her mother in the last year (this is a book that is very much about grief and recovery—not an easy read.) She has a 3-month-old baby.
A lot of the book at first is about set up and establishing how Rebecca functions in the world and within her friend group so it takes until about 1/3 of the way in to get to the main event which is—Rebecca believes someone has switched her baby out with a different baby—and no one else will believe her. After that, the pacing is taut and moves quickly all the way to the end. You’re left wondering if this is all in Rebecca’s head or if the babies have been switched? (No spoilers!) Well crafted and I enjoyed it.
A lot of the book at first is about set up and establishing how Rebecca functions in the world and within her friend group so it takes until about 1/3 of the way in to get to the main event which is—Rebecca believes someone has switched her baby out with a different baby—and no one else will believe her. After that, the pacing is taut and moves quickly all the way to the end. You’re left wondering if this is all in Rebecca’s head or if the babies have been switched? (No spoilers!) Well crafted and I enjoyed it.
July 22, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dear Rea Frey, how is it that you manage year after year to put your characters and me in such tense situations and I always come back for another? All I can say is keeping waving that magic spell because I fell for this one instantly. We have widow Rebecca(Bec) who is raising her infant son all by herself after losing her husband and mother. If that's not enough heartache for one person to go through, Rebecca is also blind and has a very stubborn streak in allowing others to help her. However, Rebecca's life is about to be turned upside down, even more, when something happens to her son.
Then we have Rebecca's friend Crystal, also a widow, raising a tween daughter on her own, dealing with friction from her daughter's nanny and having a difficult time fitting in with the other moms in the neighborhood( except for Rebecca). But will Crystal be there in Rebecca's time of need?
My thoughts: Although I had a sensation that I knew where this story was headed, I still enjoyed it enough to linger on my balcony this afternoon. I will leave it to other readers to raise doubts as to the plausibility of the storyline, but I was happy to bask in the fictional world of Rea Frey once again.
Goodreads review published 21/07/20
Expected publication 11/08/20
Dear Rea Frey, how is it that you manage year after year to put your characters and me in such tense situations and I always come back for another? All I can say is keeping waving that magic spell because I fell for this one instantly. We have widow Rebecca(Bec) who is raising her infant son all by herself after losing her husband and mother. If that's not enough heartache for one person to go through, Rebecca is also blind and has a very stubborn streak in allowing others to help her. However, Rebecca's life is about to be turned upside down, even more, when something happens to her son.
Then we have Rebecca's friend Crystal, also a widow, raising a tween daughter on her own, dealing with friction from her daughter's nanny and having a difficult time fitting in with the other moms in the neighborhood( except for Rebecca). But will Crystal be there in Rebecca's time of need?
My thoughts: Although I had a sensation that I knew where this story was headed, I still enjoyed it enough to linger on my balcony this afternoon. I will leave it to other readers to raise doubts as to the plausibility of the storyline, but I was happy to bask in the fictional world of Rea Frey once again.
Goodreads review published 21/07/20
Expected publication 11/08/20
August 13, 2020
This book annoyed me from the moment I started reading all the way to the very end. The story was far-fetched and the way much of the plot played out, I basically had to suspend disbelief the entire time. But what annoyed me most was actually the main character Bec (short for Rebecca), who was so overwritten as a character that I ended up tremendously disliking her (even though I think the intention was, based on the way she was portrayed, the reader is supposed to sympathize with her). Bec is diagnosed with a condition that causes her to gradually lose her eyesight, yet despite that, she is happy and intent on living a blissful life with her wonderful, supportive husband and their soon-to-be born baby. But then Bec’s husband dies in a horrible accident and instantly her world is shattered. Unable to bear living in the same house without her husband, Bec decides to move in with her mother, who still lives in the house in Elmhurst that she grew up in. Shortly after her son Jackson is born however, tragedy strikes again, as Bec’s mother dies unexpectedly, and with no other living relatives to speak of, Bec is left to take care of her infant son Jackson by herself. Fortunately, Bec has a group of friends and neighbors – other moms in their small, close-knit community – who understand what she is going through and are more than willing to help her out.
The problem is, Bec is fiercely stubborn (probably “obsessively stubborn” is a more accurate term) and basically refuses any type of help from anyone — in fact, she is so adverse to people even offering to help her that she often goes out of her way to demonstrate she is perfectly capable on her own, even if it involves lying about predicaments that she finds herself in. To me though, it’s not just the fact that Bec constantly and deliberately pushes away all help of any kind that annoyed me, but also the aggressively defiant way she refuses the help, almost as though she is insulted by the notion that other people are offering to help her. It defies logic and quite frankly, I found her behavior tremendously offensive. One example (out of many) that especially frustrated me was when she’s at the park with the other moms and she passes out briefly (likely from sleep deprivation and exhaustion, which she was already complaining about early on in the story) — she then falls and hits her head and of course, her friends rush to help her, but she refuses their efforts to help her up, refuses to let them tend to her wound, refuses to let them accompany her home. Instead, she ridiculously insists that she has no problem walking home by herself in that condition (with her baby in tow) and to prove it, she charges forward to grab the stroller and head home, except that her friends intervene and force her to let them accompany her (they actually had to get on either side of her and drag her with them!). Another example — the stairs in her old house, which have broken steps that caused her to trip and nearly fall multiple times, yet doesn’t get it fixed because she either doesn’t have time (overexertion with doing everything herself) or doesn’t want to ask others to help her fix it. So instead, it’s one excuse after another — she knows her way around the house well enough to avoid the broken step, and is very careful on the stairs when carrying the baby (indeed, the 2 times — maybe more, I just stopped paying attention after awhile — that she actually fell down the stairs, she wasn’t holding the baby, which I guess is justification that she’s in the right? And don’t get me started on the “drama for drama’s sake” plot point of having Bec – and other characters -- repeatedly trip / nearly fall / actually fall down the stairs multiple times over the course of the entire story – why not just get the darn stairs fixed!?).
I think one of the reasons why Bec’s stubbornness irked me as much as it did was because of the impact of her actions and behavior on her baby, which she seemed completely oblivious to. Decisions such as choosing to take her son with her everywhere she went Instead of hiring a nanny or babysitter or even having her friends help watch the baby for a few hours so she could run errands or whatnot, were irrational, especially when a few of those situations actually put the baby in danger (like that one scene where she had the baby in a carrier strapped to her chest and insisted on going to the park all alone late at night to poke around, even though she was given specific instructions to stay home). This kind of nonsensical behavior from Bec basically permeates the entire story.
I actually had a lot more issues with the story (particularly as it relates to Bec’s interactions with her ex Jake and also the local police), but I can’t bring those up without giving away the plot, so I won’t list those at this time. Overall though, as I mentioned earlier, the entire story felt very unrealistic to me. I mean, I get the message the author is trying to send here — the blind young widow who rises above her circumstances in spite of tragedy, who should be admired for her strength, courage, and unfaltering devotion to her infant son — but execution-wise, it went the wrong way in my opinion. I think most of us would agree that asking for help when it’s warranted (I.e.: when one is injured, as an example), is not normally viewed as a sign of weakness, so for Bec to be portrayed to such extreme, just doesn’t make much sense.
One thing I do want to mention — this is actually the third book I’ve read by Rea Frey and I actually liked both of her previous novels quite a lot, so I’m a bit disappointed (and surprised) that this one fell so far off the mark for me. With that said, it hasn’t put me off from reading her works in the future, though I do hope that I will take to her next book much better.
Received paper ARC directly from publisher (St. Martin’s Griffin).
The problem is, Bec is fiercely stubborn (probably “obsessively stubborn” is a more accurate term) and basically refuses any type of help from anyone — in fact, she is so adverse to people even offering to help her that she often goes out of her way to demonstrate she is perfectly capable on her own, even if it involves lying about predicaments that she finds herself in. To me though, it’s not just the fact that Bec constantly and deliberately pushes away all help of any kind that annoyed me, but also the aggressively defiant way she refuses the help, almost as though she is insulted by the notion that other people are offering to help her. It defies logic and quite frankly, I found her behavior tremendously offensive. One example (out of many) that especially frustrated me was when she’s at the park with the other moms and she passes out briefly (likely from sleep deprivation and exhaustion, which she was already complaining about early on in the story) — she then falls and hits her head and of course, her friends rush to help her, but she refuses their efforts to help her up, refuses to let them tend to her wound, refuses to let them accompany her home. Instead, she ridiculously insists that she has no problem walking home by herself in that condition (with her baby in tow) and to prove it, she charges forward to grab the stroller and head home, except that her friends intervene and force her to let them accompany her (they actually had to get on either side of her and drag her with them!). Another example — the stairs in her old house, which have broken steps that caused her to trip and nearly fall multiple times, yet doesn’t get it fixed because she either doesn’t have time (overexertion with doing everything herself) or doesn’t want to ask others to help her fix it. So instead, it’s one excuse after another — she knows her way around the house well enough to avoid the broken step, and is very careful on the stairs when carrying the baby (indeed, the 2 times — maybe more, I just stopped paying attention after awhile — that she actually fell down the stairs, she wasn’t holding the baby, which I guess is justification that she’s in the right? And don’t get me started on the “drama for drama’s sake” plot point of having Bec – and other characters -- repeatedly trip / nearly fall / actually fall down the stairs multiple times over the course of the entire story – why not just get the darn stairs fixed!?).
I think one of the reasons why Bec’s stubbornness irked me as much as it did was because of the impact of her actions and behavior on her baby, which she seemed completely oblivious to. Decisions such as choosing to take her son with her everywhere she went Instead of hiring a nanny or babysitter or even having her friends help watch the baby for a few hours so she could run errands or whatnot, were irrational, especially when a few of those situations actually put the baby in danger (like that one scene where she had the baby in a carrier strapped to her chest and insisted on going to the park all alone late at night to poke around, even though she was given specific instructions to stay home). This kind of nonsensical behavior from Bec basically permeates the entire story.
I actually had a lot more issues with the story (particularly as it relates to Bec’s interactions with her ex Jake and also the local police), but I can’t bring those up without giving away the plot, so I won’t list those at this time. Overall though, as I mentioned earlier, the entire story felt very unrealistic to me. I mean, I get the message the author is trying to send here — the blind young widow who rises above her circumstances in spite of tragedy, who should be admired for her strength, courage, and unfaltering devotion to her infant son — but execution-wise, it went the wrong way in my opinion. I think most of us would agree that asking for help when it’s warranted (I.e.: when one is injured, as an example), is not normally viewed as a sign of weakness, so for Bec to be portrayed to such extreme, just doesn’t make much sense.
One thing I do want to mention — this is actually the third book I’ve read by Rea Frey and I actually liked both of her previous novels quite a lot, so I’m a bit disappointed (and surprised) that this one fell so far off the mark for me. With that said, it hasn’t put me off from reading her works in the future, though I do hope that I will take to her next book much better.
Received paper ARC directly from publisher (St. Martin’s Griffin).
December 17, 2020
After losing her husband in an accident, Rebecca Grey (Bec) tried her best to bring up their three-month-old son, Jackson. But with each passing day Bec was finding life was becoming more challenging because when she was in her twenties, Bec was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease and she has gradually been losing her eyesight.
Bec takes Jackson to the local park each day where she meets up with other mothers and their babies. Lately Bec has a strong sense that someone is stalking her, but who and why is the question that plays on her mind. When Bec arrives home after being out she immediately knows someone has been in her house or is she just being paranoid due to sleepless nights.
The day Bec takes a fall at the park, her friends take her home whilst she is resting they take care of Jackson. What happens next is going to change Bec's life, but when Bec tells people what happened, they don't seem to believe her and think that she is suffering from exhaustion.
Until I Find You by Rea Frey was an emotional, captivating and well written book that I enjoyed a lot.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
Bec takes Jackson to the local park each day where she meets up with other mothers and their babies. Lately Bec has a strong sense that someone is stalking her, but who and why is the question that plays on her mind. When Bec arrives home after being out she immediately knows someone has been in her house or is she just being paranoid due to sleepless nights.
The day Bec takes a fall at the park, her friends take her home whilst she is resting they take care of Jackson. What happens next is going to change Bec's life, but when Bec tells people what happened, they don't seem to believe her and think that she is suffering from exhaustion.
Until I Find You by Rea Frey was an emotional, captivating and well written book that I enjoyed a lot.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
April 27, 2020
3.5 stars
Sometimes the implausible becomes plausible given the times we live in.
This was quite the tale about a young mother who faces insurmountable obstacles, for you see, she is blind, has recently lost both her husband and mother, and has a new baby to care for. Rebecca Gray, has certainly had a lot stacked against her, but through a group of wealthy neighborhood friends she seems to have formed friendship alliances which are helping her through this tough time.
Then the unthinkable happens and brings into question whether Rebecca is competent and whether a mother really does know her child. Up against those who disbelieve her, Rebecca seems to wage a one woman war against what she holds in her heart to be true. Then an old flame shows up and the struggle is to get him to believe that what Rebecca is experiencing isn't the result of trauma, but one of truth.
This was an interesting tale, one which had many of those needed twists and turns we all seem to expect in our thrillers. There were some slightly farfetched occurrences, but overall this story held my attention and made for a fine escapism book from the trials of today.
Thank you to Rea Frey, St Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for a copy of this book to be released in August of 2020.
Sometimes the implausible becomes plausible given the times we live in.
This was quite the tale about a young mother who faces insurmountable obstacles, for you see, she is blind, has recently lost both her husband and mother, and has a new baby to care for. Rebecca Gray, has certainly had a lot stacked against her, but through a group of wealthy neighborhood friends she seems to have formed friendship alliances which are helping her through this tough time.
Then the unthinkable happens and brings into question whether Rebecca is competent and whether a mother really does know her child. Up against those who disbelieve her, Rebecca seems to wage a one woman war against what she holds in her heart to be true. Then an old flame shows up and the struggle is to get him to believe that what Rebecca is experiencing isn't the result of trauma, but one of truth.
This was an interesting tale, one which had many of those needed twists and turns we all seem to expect in our thrillers. There were some slightly farfetched occurrences, but overall this story held my attention and made for a fine escapism book from the trials of today.
Thank you to Rea Frey, St Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for a copy of this book to be released in August of 2020.
August 6, 2020
Rebecca (Bec) Gray has made so many adjustments in the last year. Her husband died in an accident before she gave birth to their son, Jackson. She has a degenerative eye condition where she’s lost her sight and has learned to live as a blind woman. Her mother recently succumbed to cancer and she’s now alone to care for her three-month old son who is the center of her life. But recently, Bec’s suffering from extreme anxiety, particularly around Jackson, imagining something happening to him. She’s not sleeping well but she’s managing...until one day she wakes and picks up her baby and knows immediately he’s not her son. Trouble is, no one believes her. To her friends, he looks like Jackson though all admit they hadn’t many opportunities to see him closely.
One of the remarkable aspects of this story is being able to “see” the world through the eyes of someone with sight impairment. I’ve often speculated about how the sightless manage the mundane daily tasks and that was completely answered through Bec’s routines. She has a system, mostly using step counts to augment her own exceptional memory skills. But what was abundantly clear was how she identifies her own child. The descriptions and details leading up to his going missing were painstakingly outlined, even to the point where it slowed the pace of the story to a crawl. If you can hang in there, there’s a nice payoff because, unlike the people around her, there was no ambiguity in my mind about whether or not she was mistaken because I had been utterly convinced she could “see” her child.
I enjoyed the story after it shifted to the search for Jackson. It became a layered one about Bec’s efforts to get people to believe her, including law enforcement and her close friends, and following the clues to figure out the who, when and how of Jackson’s disappearance. Magnifying the situation was the fact her baby had been swapped with another so who was this child and why he was exchanged? It became a page turner where I then couldn’t put the book down. The resolution wasn’t anything like I’d imagined but it was consistent with the characterizations leading up to the climax. It was a slow burn but eventually got there, taking the time to develop Bec’s world so I could see it through her “eyes.” 3.5 stars
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
One of the remarkable aspects of this story is being able to “see” the world through the eyes of someone with sight impairment. I’ve often speculated about how the sightless manage the mundane daily tasks and that was completely answered through Bec’s routines. She has a system, mostly using step counts to augment her own exceptional memory skills. But what was abundantly clear was how she identifies her own child. The descriptions and details leading up to his going missing were painstakingly outlined, even to the point where it slowed the pace of the story to a crawl. If you can hang in there, there’s a nice payoff because, unlike the people around her, there was no ambiguity in my mind about whether or not she was mistaken because I had been utterly convinced she could “see” her child.
I enjoyed the story after it shifted to the search for Jackson. It became a layered one about Bec’s efforts to get people to believe her, including law enforcement and her close friends, and following the clues to figure out the who, when and how of Jackson’s disappearance. Magnifying the situation was the fact her baby had been swapped with another so who was this child and why he was exchanged? It became a page turner where I then couldn’t put the book down. The resolution wasn’t anything like I’d imagined but it was consistent with the characterizations leading up to the climax. It was a slow burn but eventually got there, taking the time to develop Bec’s world so I could see it through her “eyes.” 3.5 stars
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
July 8, 2020
Rebecca (Bec) Gray, mother of three month old Jackson is doing it really tough. Once an accomplished musician she has gradually been losing her sight and is now almost blind. To make matters worse she lost her husband almost a year ago and then her mother a few weeks ago. Still grieving both of them, she is slowly adapting to life on her own back in her mother's house, where she grew up, in suburban Chicago. She has made friends with other women with babies in the neighborhood park and another single mother who recently lost her husband has been helping her update the interior of her house.
However, life is about to get worse for Bec after she falls and bumps her head in the park, she finds herself in a living nightmare, convinced the baby in her stroller is not her son. None of her friends or the police believe her, after all the baby looks like Jackson as far as her friends can tell, and think she's just confused and needs a good night's sleep.
This is a tense and emotionally charged read that's hard to put down as Bec struggles to get someone to listen to her. Rea Frey has artfully described the challenges that come with being blind and learning to not only navigate the streets and city on your own but to also look after a baby you can barely see. Then there is the question of whether Bec is delusional and suffering from a psychological syndrome or why anyone would want to swap a perfectly healthy baby for another.
With thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a digital copy to read
However, life is about to get worse for Bec after she falls and bumps her head in the park, she finds herself in a living nightmare, convinced the baby in her stroller is not her son. None of her friends or the police believe her, after all the baby looks like Jackson as far as her friends can tell, and think she's just confused and needs a good night's sleep.
This is a tense and emotionally charged read that's hard to put down as Bec struggles to get someone to listen to her. Rea Frey has artfully described the challenges that come with being blind and learning to not only navigate the streets and city on your own but to also look after a baby you can barely see. Then there is the question of whether Bec is delusional and suffering from a psychological syndrome or why anyone would want to swap a perfectly healthy baby for another.
With thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a digital copy to read
August 13, 2023
CAPTIVATING. INTENSE. GRIPPING!
Love this cover! UNTIL I FIND YOU is another slam-dunk domestic suspense thriller by the amazing Rea Frey.
Her novels are impossible to put down, and her latest is no exception. I will read anything she writes. The minute you start a book by her, you know it is a rare treat, and you will be hooked immediately.
I thought I posted this review when I read the book; however, appears I was in the middle of a major move at the time. When I went to link it to the latest novel, I did not find it, so here goes.
Meet Rebecca Gray. She is nearly blind with a degenerative eye disease (Stargardt disease); she is a recent widow and the single mother of an adorable three-month-old boy, Jackson.
Rebecca is well organized and always counts her steps due to her disability. Her world is both humbling and frightening.
Prior to her condition, she was with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra which led to the diagnosis of Stargardt disease and Charles Bonnet syndrome. Her career died with her vision which was a catastrophic loss.
She is still suffering grief from the loss of her husband. She is a wonderful caring mother worrying about every detail and often exhausted from the care of your adorable young son, considering her disabilities and living alone without assistance.
As the book opens, Rebecca goes to the park with the stroller to meet up with some other neighbor moms. Chris died about a year earlier as did her mother. She cannot afford a nanny and is the sole provider and caretaker. She always keeps Jackson safe.
All of a sudden she faints and falls from the bench. Then the unbelievable happens, when she gets home she realizes this is not her baby? Where is Jackson?
She feels like someone is watching her. She becomes both paranoid and frantic. Who will believe her? This is not her son.
Her baby is always the best and this baby is colicky and fussy. The police are called but apparently, no one believes her.
The tension builds and Rebecca is utterly frightened and filled with worry and fear about her son. Luckily she is able to re-connect with a childhood friend, Jake Donovan and her ex-boyfriend that is a detective to have someone on her side.
Why would someone swap a baby? The REVEAL - OMG!
This is one INTENSE BOOK! Emotional and heart-rendering, I loved everything about this book. Totally unpredictable. It is suspenseful, mysterious, scary, plot, and character-driven. It is hypotonic, atmospheric, and absorbing. Can you imagine being blind and raising a baby alone?
Rea is a master storyteller, writing with ease and precision, getting into the hearts and minds of her characters like no other. I loved the ending!
Meticulously researched she made you feel you were in Rebecca Gray's body in a dark world without eyes. Where would we be without eyes that we take for granted?
FIVE GLOWING STARS and Top Books of 2020.
Blog Review:
#JDCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. Also purchased the audiobook narrated by the talented Samantha Desz, for an award-winning performance!
Love this cover! UNTIL I FIND YOU is another slam-dunk domestic suspense thriller by the amazing Rea Frey.
Her novels are impossible to put down, and her latest is no exception. I will read anything she writes. The minute you start a book by her, you know it is a rare treat, and you will be hooked immediately.
I thought I posted this review when I read the book; however, appears I was in the middle of a major move at the time. When I went to link it to the latest novel, I did not find it, so here goes.
Meet Rebecca Gray. She is nearly blind with a degenerative eye disease (Stargardt disease); she is a recent widow and the single mother of an adorable three-month-old boy, Jackson.
Rebecca is well organized and always counts her steps due to her disability. Her world is both humbling and frightening.
Prior to her condition, she was with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra which led to the diagnosis of Stargardt disease and Charles Bonnet syndrome. Her career died with her vision which was a catastrophic loss.
She is still suffering grief from the loss of her husband. She is a wonderful caring mother worrying about every detail and often exhausted from the care of your adorable young son, considering her disabilities and living alone without assistance.
As the book opens, Rebecca goes to the park with the stroller to meet up with some other neighbor moms. Chris died about a year earlier as did her mother. She cannot afford a nanny and is the sole provider and caretaker. She always keeps Jackson safe.
All of a sudden she faints and falls from the bench. Then the unbelievable happens, when she gets home she realizes this is not her baby? Where is Jackson?
She feels like someone is watching her. She becomes both paranoid and frantic. Who will believe her? This is not her son.
Her baby is always the best and this baby is colicky and fussy. The police are called but apparently, no one believes her.
The tension builds and Rebecca is utterly frightened and filled with worry and fear about her son. Luckily she is able to re-connect with a childhood friend, Jake Donovan and her ex-boyfriend that is a detective to have someone on her side.
Why would someone swap a baby? The REVEAL - OMG!
This is one INTENSE BOOK! Emotional and heart-rendering, I loved everything about this book. Totally unpredictable. It is suspenseful, mysterious, scary, plot, and character-driven. It is hypotonic, atmospheric, and absorbing. Can you imagine being blind and raising a baby alone?
Rea is a master storyteller, writing with ease and precision, getting into the hearts and minds of her characters like no other. I loved the ending!
Meticulously researched she made you feel you were in Rebecca Gray's body in a dark world without eyes. Where would we be without eyes that we take for granted?
FIVE GLOWING STARS and Top Books of 2020.
Blog Review:
#JDCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. Also purchased the audiobook narrated by the talented Samantha Desz, for an award-winning performance!
August 10, 2020
Rebecca Grey is recently widowed and caring for her three-month-old son Jackson. She is also coping with a degenerative eye disease that will eventually leave her blind. She is lucky to have a circle of supportive mothers that meet daily at a nearby park. These friends support Rebecca as she raises her child without a spouse and almost no vision.
One day at the park, Rebecca faints. Her friends bring her home to rest and take turns watching Jackson until she feels better. Later when she retrieves Jackson from the crib, she is shocked that the baby does not feel like her son. Rebecca is convinced that someone has switched her baby. Her friends have trouble believing her story and feel that she is suffering from stress and exhaustion. Rebecca won’t give up on finding her son, even if she has to do it alone.
Until I Find You is the third novel by Rea Frey. This novel reminded me of the multitude of feelings when first caring for a newborn and the challenges with making friends. This domestic thriller is satisfying and addictive.
One day at the park, Rebecca faints. Her friends bring her home to rest and take turns watching Jackson until she feels better. Later when she retrieves Jackson from the crib, she is shocked that the baby does not feel like her son. Rebecca is convinced that someone has switched her baby. Her friends have trouble believing her story and feel that she is suffering from stress and exhaustion. Rebecca won’t give up on finding her son, even if she has to do it alone.
Until I Find You is the third novel by Rea Frey. This novel reminded me of the multitude of feelings when first caring for a newborn and the challenges with making friends. This domestic thriller is satisfying and addictive.
November 3, 2020
I have never read anything by Rea Frey, but this story is thrilling till the end. I can't wait to read another one of her books
Rebecca is diagnosed with a eye disease, but she tries to live a normal life as much as possible. She gets married, gets pregnant, and plays her beloved cello which she loves.
Right when everything was going along smoothly Rebecca loses her husband in a car accident so she moves in with her mom. Her mom comforts her and helps her through her pregnancy and delivery of her son Jackson, but dies soon afterwards.
Now it is just Rebecca and Jackson. She feels like odd things are happening in the house. She hears strange noises and feels like someone is watching her, but she figures it is just her nerves since she is sleep deprived.
A friend watches the baby and lets Rebecca take a nap. When she awakens and goes to pick up her baby she has the terrifying realization that the child in the crib is not hers. This baby has a different smell, different shape and different skin. She knows every inch of her baby boy Jackson and this is not him. She has held and caressed him since he was born and she knows her baby.
Of coarse no one believes her. I don't want to be a spoiler so get this book and read it to the end. It has lots of twist and turns. A must read.
.
Rebecca is diagnosed with a eye disease, but she tries to live a normal life as much as possible. She gets married, gets pregnant, and plays her beloved cello which she loves.
Right when everything was going along smoothly Rebecca loses her husband in a car accident so she moves in with her mom. Her mom comforts her and helps her through her pregnancy and delivery of her son Jackson, but dies soon afterwards.
Now it is just Rebecca and Jackson. She feels like odd things are happening in the house. She hears strange noises and feels like someone is watching her, but she figures it is just her nerves since she is sleep deprived.
A friend watches the baby and lets Rebecca take a nap. When she awakens and goes to pick up her baby she has the terrifying realization that the child in the crib is not hers. This baby has a different smell, different shape and different skin. She knows every inch of her baby boy Jackson and this is not him. She has held and caressed him since he was born and she knows her baby.
Of coarse no one believes her. I don't want to be a spoiler so get this book and read it to the end. It has lots of twist and turns. A must read.
.
Read
September 26, 2020DNF
August 19, 2020
This is a book that GRABS you from the very first page. The story is told from two friends perspectives. I love a multi-POV book...especially a thriller! We have Bec, a new mother who is visually impaired, and Crystal, a mother of a 10 yr old cello prodigy. Both women met in grief group.
There are so many heart pounding moments. Can you say, "page turner"?? Frey has an amazing way of really getting us to put ourselves in the characters shoes. Although much of it seemed far fetched....I was engrossed!!
I recommend this read!
There are so many heart pounding moments. Can you say, "page turner"?? Frey has an amazing way of really getting us to put ourselves in the characters shoes. Although much of it seemed far fetched....I was engrossed!!
I recommend this read!
November 24, 2020
I wanted soooo badly to just love this book. I've read other books by Rea Frey and loved them, raved about them. She is an extremely talented author. The premise behind this book is brilliant. A blind mother who is absolutely positive her baby has been swapped with another, yet no one believes her. This is the stuff nightmares are made of!!
I honestly can't pinpoint why I didn't connect with this story. It was slow to get rolling, that may have been it. Or possibly my extreme annoyance that no one believed Rebecca. There are a couple of unanswered questions by the end of the book. For me the story was good, not great. The ending was a surprise to me (which is always a positive).
What I will say is that you should read this book and form your own opinion. I'm in the minority with my 3-star rating. And the author's other books are fantastic. I will still be first in line to read her next book.
My thanks to Rea Frey, St. Martin's Press and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I honestly can't pinpoint why I didn't connect with this story. It was slow to get rolling, that may have been it. Or possibly my extreme annoyance that no one believed Rebecca. There are a couple of unanswered questions by the end of the book. For me the story was good, not great. The ending was a surprise to me (which is always a positive).
What I will say is that you should read this book and form your own opinion. I'm in the minority with my 3-star rating. And the author's other books are fantastic. I will still be first in line to read her next book.
My thanks to Rea Frey, St. Martin's Press and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2020
A beautifully, poignant, emotional story, Until I Find You examines what it means to trust yourself, even in a world where seeing is believing, and you can’t see to believe.
Recently widowed and now blind, Rebecca is finding raising her new baby challenging, to say the least. But one day she faints and when she wakes up she finds that the baby in her arms isn’t her own. Nobody believes her, but Bec knows her baby. And she’ll stop at nothing to find him.
With well-written characters and suffused with emotion, Until I Find You is a riveting story about the power of a mother’s love.
Recently widowed and now blind, Rebecca is finding raising her new baby challenging, to say the least. But one day she faints and when she wakes up she finds that the baby in her arms isn’t her own. Nobody believes her, but Bec knows her baby. And she’ll stop at nothing to find him.
With well-written characters and suffused with emotion, Until I Find You is a riveting story about the power of a mother’s love.
August 6, 2020
Rating: 3.5 rounded down to 3 stars
This was a solid book, but it was not fast-paced enough for me to consider it a tippy top-notch thriller. While reading this on my Kindle, I kept looking at the percentage read indicator, and wondering when something would actually start happening. Rebecca ‘Bec’ Gray is a new mother to three-month old Jackson. She is almost totally blind. She lost her husband and her mother within the last year. This lady has a lot on her plate! With all that going on, I was at about the 20% completion mark that I finally felt like we were over the character introductions, and the detailed descriptions of widow’s grief that both she and her friend Crystal were suffering.
Bec starts to hear footsteps following her as she walks to the park. She finds her front door open upon her return from the park, and the baby’s play crib moved to the center of her living room. However, she still doubts what she has encountered and primarily passes it off as sleep deprivation. After one incident when she thought she heard footsteps in the house, she searches the house by herself, using a coat hanger to jab into the corners of rooms to find out if anyone was hiding there. Her friends at her new mother’s group and her grief group are not very helpful. In my opinion, they were too quick to pass off the strange occurrences as sleep deprivation also. After fainting and hitting her head, Bec agrees to rest at a friend’s house for a few hours. When Bec goes to check on Jackson after her rest, she is horrified to discover that the baby boy in the crib is not her Jackson. She has a hard time convincing anyone of the baby swap.
Then the to-ing and fro-ing started as Bec tries to find Jackson. It sounds like a great plot, but for some reason that I cannot exactly put my finger on I just did not feel too connected to any of the characters. Rebecca started to annoy pretty quickly. Internally I was shouting at her to trust herself and get more help. The book’s ending was too simply too neat. However, as I read the last page, I still had many unresolved questions about other unresolved incidents in the book. While this is a solid read, it is not a stellar read in my opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.
This was a solid book, but it was not fast-paced enough for me to consider it a tippy top-notch thriller. While reading this on my Kindle, I kept looking at the percentage read indicator, and wondering when something would actually start happening. Rebecca ‘Bec’ Gray is a new mother to three-month old Jackson. She is almost totally blind. She lost her husband and her mother within the last year. This lady has a lot on her plate! With all that going on, I was at about the 20% completion mark that I finally felt like we were over the character introductions, and the detailed descriptions of widow’s grief that both she and her friend Crystal were suffering.
Bec starts to hear footsteps following her as she walks to the park. She finds her front door open upon her return from the park, and the baby’s play crib moved to the center of her living room. However, she still doubts what she has encountered and primarily passes it off as sleep deprivation. After one incident when she thought she heard footsteps in the house, she searches the house by herself, using a coat hanger to jab into the corners of rooms to find out if anyone was hiding there. Her friends at her new mother’s group and her grief group are not very helpful. In my opinion, they were too quick to pass off the strange occurrences as sleep deprivation also. After fainting and hitting her head, Bec agrees to rest at a friend’s house for a few hours. When Bec goes to check on Jackson after her rest, she is horrified to discover that the baby boy in the crib is not her Jackson. She has a hard time convincing anyone of the baby swap.
Then the to-ing and fro-ing started as Bec tries to find Jackson. It sounds like a great plot, but for some reason that I cannot exactly put my finger on I just did not feel too connected to any of the characters. Rebecca started to annoy pretty quickly. Internally I was shouting at her to trust herself and get more help. The book’s ending was too simply too neat. However, as I read the last page, I still had many unresolved questions about other unresolved incidents in the book. While this is a solid read, it is not a stellar read in my opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.
August 11, 2020
How can she cope with so many losses in her life?
Rebecca lost her sight, her husband, her mother, and now the nightmare of losing her son seems to have come true.
When Rebecca absolutely knows this is not her baby, she goes to all lengths to find him even though no one believes her because they see no difference between this baby and Jackson.
Rebecca’s friends do help her, but they can’t be there 24/7 if she needs help.
Besides all these things happening and her friends seeming to help, they appear to be a bit shady along with the babysitter of one of the friends.
I actually didn’t like or trust any of Rebecca’s friends. They just seemed to not be sincere, and they all seemed to have problems of some sort and secrets.
I felt something sinister as I read, and as odd things happened, and as authorities reacted, the tension increased and I believed her that this baby was not her son.
UNTIL I FIND YOU has a tension-filled build up, and you can feel the dread and fear Rebecca has.
The ending is a big surprise.
Those readers who enjoy thrillers and solving mysteries, will not be disappointed. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rebecca lost her sight, her husband, her mother, and now the nightmare of losing her son seems to have come true.
When Rebecca absolutely knows this is not her baby, she goes to all lengths to find him even though no one believes her because they see no difference between this baby and Jackson.
Rebecca’s friends do help her, but they can’t be there 24/7 if she needs help.
Besides all these things happening and her friends seeming to help, they appear to be a bit shady along with the babysitter of one of the friends.
I actually didn’t like or trust any of Rebecca’s friends. They just seemed to not be sincere, and they all seemed to have problems of some sort and secrets.
I felt something sinister as I read, and as odd things happened, and as authorities reacted, the tension increased and I believed her that this baby was not her son.
UNTIL I FIND YOU has a tension-filled build up, and you can feel the dread and fear Rebecca has.
The ending is a big surprise.
Those readers who enjoy thrillers and solving mysteries, will not be disappointed. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 3, 2020
Rebecca Gray wakes up from a nap and the baby in the nursery is not hers. No one believes her. A baby disappearing -- possible. A baby swap -- impossible. What I appreciate about Rea Frey is her ability to take something that is barely plausible and make it into a compelling narrative. It is a new level of challenge to write that book with a blind mother. It is brilliant, actually. Even the reader finds it difficult not to side with the majority on this one. The deck is really stacked against Bec, but she powers through. There are, however, some plot holes that I just could not make excuses for. Thus my rating is between three and four stars. I am rounding up to four as I have found Rea Frey to be consistent in surprising me with inventive plots through all three of her thrillers. This was not my favorite, but was most certainly worth spending the time reading.
Thank you to St. Martin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to St. Martin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2020
After a fall in the park, Rebecca (aka Bec) realizes the baby in her care is not her son. Bec suffers from a degenerative eye disease and lives as a blind woman. She finds it difficult to get the police and her friends to believe the baby isn't hers. After all, they believe the baby looks like her son.
Bec is an intriguing character. Losing her sight is challenging enough, but Bec has also recently lost loved ones. Her husband passed away nearly a year ago and her mother passed weeks ago. She's also become more anxious about her son. When she claims her son has been taken and another baby left in his place, no one seems to believe her. How and when could such a thing happen?
A compelling story with well-developed characters. Suspenseful, dramatic, and enjoyable.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Bec is an intriguing character. Losing her sight is challenging enough, but Bec has also recently lost loved ones. Her husband passed away nearly a year ago and her mother passed weeks ago. She's also become more anxious about her son. When she claims her son has been taken and another baby left in his place, no one seems to believe her. How and when could such a thing happen?
A compelling story with well-developed characters. Suspenseful, dramatic, and enjoyable.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 8, 2020
This book was slow to start and middle ways it picked up and I could not turn the pages fast enough. This is my third book by Frey and she gets better with every book. I loved the twists and my heart pounded so hard many times while reading this book.
I highly recommend this 4 star book.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
I highly recommend this 4 star book.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
August 2, 2020
Review coming soon.
August 12, 2020
Rea Frey has honed her skills at writing the domestic thriller. From the first pages the main character, Rebecca(Bec) is navigating her stroller with her newborn toward a park. Why is this of note? She's partially blind. Within the first few pages I'm wondering how this is going to unfold. BUT within the first few chapters, I'm on the edge frantically turning pages because I can't take not knowing what's going to happen.
Bec has fallen on dire times. First her husband passes away after the birth of their son and shortly after her mother passes away. She met Chrystal at a grief counseling group and they lean on each other. If that isn't enough, Bec's baby disappears, but she isn't believed. C'mon, mother's intuition, right? It seems like(in my unprofessional opinion) that if one of your senses is taken away that the other senses are overly sensitive. Maybe that's bs, but maybe that's why I fell for this storyline and loved it. Plus, Bec was a believable character. I was flipping pages so fast to get to the conclusion of this latest novel by Ms. Frey.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.
Bec has fallen on dire times. First her husband passes away after the birth of their son and shortly after her mother passes away. She met Chrystal at a grief counseling group and they lean on each other. If that isn't enough, Bec's baby disappears, but she isn't believed. C'mon, mother's intuition, right? It seems like(in my unprofessional opinion) that if one of your senses is taken away that the other senses are overly sensitive. Maybe that's bs, but maybe that's why I fell for this storyline and loved it. Plus, Bec was a believable character. I was flipping pages so fast to get to the conclusion of this latest novel by Ms. Frey.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.
August 11, 2020
4.5/ 5 stars
Until I Find You is my third book by this author. I would categorize it as a mystery/thriller.
I went into this book completely blind, which is what I would recommend. There are quite a few things that are mentioned in the book blurb that were surprising. And honestly I don't know if I would have been on the edge of my seat like I was if I had already known about these things beforehand.
The main narrator is Rebecca/Bec (1st person POV). She has a disability. And I found that part of the book to be outstanding. It added so much to the story. And made everything about this book so much more powerful.
The story takes place in a suburb outside of Chicago. Bec plays the cello and is a music teacher. She has a 3 month old son, Jackson.
The second narrator is Crystal (3rd person POV). Even though Crystal is written in the 3rd person I think that the author did an amazing job. The POV is written so seamlessly that the reader does not even notice that some of the chapters are not in 1st person.
Crystal is an interior designer and has a young daughter.
There are things happening to Bec. And honestly I was scared and terrified. And I was wondering what was happening to her.
The author manages to take some things that would be hard to read ... but she makes the story absolutely riveting.
For most of this book I could not turn the pages fast enough.
The book has some romance. Although it's not the main focus of the book.
The ending is everything, especially in a thriller. And that is the only part of the book that I am not sure about. It wasn't a bad ending. But I think that I would have preferred something different. I was mesmerized by much of this book. And the reveal was interesting. But I just wanted more.
But overall this was a really good thriller and I could not put this book down.
Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.
Until I Find You is my third book by this author. I would categorize it as a mystery/thriller.
I went into this book completely blind, which is what I would recommend. There are quite a few things that are mentioned in the book blurb that were surprising. And honestly I don't know if I would have been on the edge of my seat like I was if I had already known about these things beforehand.
The main narrator is Rebecca/Bec (1st person POV). She has a disability. And I found that part of the book to be outstanding. It added so much to the story. And made everything about this book so much more powerful.
The story takes place in a suburb outside of Chicago. Bec plays the cello and is a music teacher. She has a 3 month old son, Jackson.
The second narrator is Crystal (3rd person POV). Even though Crystal is written in the 3rd person I think that the author did an amazing job. The POV is written so seamlessly that the reader does not even notice that some of the chapters are not in 1st person.
Crystal is an interior designer and has a young daughter.
There are things happening to Bec. And honestly I was scared and terrified. And I was wondering what was happening to her.
The author manages to take some things that would be hard to read ... but she makes the story absolutely riveting.
For most of this book I could not turn the pages fast enough.
The book has some romance. Although it's not the main focus of the book.
The ending is everything, especially in a thriller. And that is the only part of the book that I am not sure about. It wasn't a bad ending. But I think that I would have preferred something different. I was mesmerized by much of this book. And the reveal was interesting. But I just wanted more.
But overall this was a really good thriller and I could not put this book down.
Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.
August 12, 2020
4.5 stars!
This was a taught thriller, which kept me anxious throughout.. I was so nervous thinking how it would be to be deaf, a new mother, and a new widow. Its hard enough managing with sight and a new baby, this woman was an incredible force. I don't think I would have been able to even leave the house with my baby,
Rea Frey is an incredible author, this is my third read from her and it was wonderful. I put it on my too be read list on Goodreads before there was a synopsis or a cover and requested it before having read what it was about...that is how sure I was that Frey would delight me once again.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of, Until I Find You, in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a taught thriller, which kept me anxious throughout.. I was so nervous thinking how it would be to be deaf, a new mother, and a new widow. Its hard enough managing with sight and a new baby, this woman was an incredible force. I don't think I would have been able to even leave the house with my baby,
Rea Frey is an incredible author, this is my third read from her and it was wonderful. I put it on my too be read list on Goodreads before there was a synopsis or a cover and requested it before having read what it was about...that is how sure I was that Frey would delight me once again.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of, Until I Find You, in exchange for my honest opinion.
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