Rear-View Mirror

by Caroline B. Cooney

Susan Seton stops two young men in the act of murdering a child and is forced to drive them along North Carolina's backwoods roads with herself and the injured child as hostages.

Genres: Mystery

212 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com

Reviews

[Evans Light · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bland and boring, this book teases thrills but never delivers much of anything. Silly.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad, I also don't think I've ever read an adult book by this author before.
I have to say that Janelle and Harry were idiots leaving their kids in the back of a car, with the engine running, who does that? Idiots! And Roger was an Utterly disgusting excuse for a man - Susan needs to divorce him.

* Jerry Sam escapes from prison, picks up his cousin, robs a petrol station and then steals a car. Unfortunately there are 2 children in the back. Jerry and his cousin Powell decide to put the kids in bin bags and throw them in a river.
* Susan is picking wild flowers when she sees what the men are doing. She manages to get hold of the little boy, but the men then threaten her with a shotgun and make her drive them around in her VW Rabbit.
* The other child is fished out the river by a fishing priest, and taken to hospital.
* The parents of the twins end up at a different hospital, and sedated.
* Poor Susan ends up driving Jerry and Powell around, the child is out of it and she wraps him in a blanket.
* Jerry Sam ends up killing Powell, and they dump him in a tobacco stand at the side of a road.
* Roger, Susan's husband isn't that concerned about her being abducted and hopes to use the situation to get attention from other women 🙄
* Eventually Susan talks Jerry into dumping the child on a doorstep and he is then rescues.
* Jerry Sam takes Susan to an old motel , she tries to shoot him but the gun is empty, then she ends up hitting him with a chair so that she can escape.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, but disturbing novel. If you have issues with things happening to children, definitely do not read this one. It was well written enough that I had to put it aside several times to settle myself down, and that’s definitely a compliment to Ms. Cooney. I have loved her work for years. I don’t think I’ll ever read this one again, as it just was too emotional for me, but I highly recommend it.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. A fast paced, brutal thriller but I've never read anything that fell in such a heap at the end. Perhaps it was intended as a script?
An entertaining read but overall a disappointment.

[Crystal Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure about it at first but it turned out pretty good actually. The writing style was different than I’m used to, kinda choppy and parts just seemed to change up. It was very fast paced but overall the plot was pretty good.

[Kindra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Had me hooked the entire time!

[Wanda Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story might have been written a few years back, but it still holds the thrill of chills today. The author jam-packed all this suspense-filled, true to life horror together to form and take a story to its limit and make it settle right into the nerves. I read with baited breath, page after page, wondering how Susan was going to get herself out of a very scary situation that will give the old Adrenaline an all time new rush. Susan Seton, an intelligent young woman, had always tried to see both sides of any situation, but will she really have time to think this one out very carefully before getting a bullet between her eyes? She has to keep remembering there is someone else in the car that needs her attention too. The very thought of her having that on her conscience gave this reader the chills. I kept wondering what could be around the next curve for her, and felt her urgency as she drove on down the highway, and too, all the time, she tried to keep the kidnappers from finding out what she had in mind to do.
Caroline B. Cooney gave the characters of REAR-VIEW MIRROR a real reason to fight these young vicious evil doers that thought they could get away with murder and mayhem. Take, for instance, on page 85 and part of 86 the author compared these two young men as slugs and criminals. Both shocking and unbelievable. What made this story so realistic was, it could happen to anyone, at any time, and at any place. How would I act or react in a situation like that? I don't know. Each individual thinks differently.

[Tracyene · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most edge-of-my-seat books I've ever read. It does peter out towards the end, but it's worth a read.