Review: THINGS WE DIDN'T SAY by Kristina Riggle

Fiction 
William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins

When a boy goes missing, it's time for a couple to re-evaluate their relationship. Will it bring them closer together or tear them apart for good?

Casey has a carefully guarded secret that she feels will drive her fiance Michael away. When his daughter threatens to expose it, she feels there is no choice for her but to leave. Then his son disappears, complicating things even more. She can't go away when there is already so much confusion. When the ex-wife steps in, trying to regain what she lost, Casey wonders if what she and Michael had is really worth fighting for.

*****

THINGS WE DIDN'T SAY grabbed my attention from the very start and didn't let go. I commend Ms. Riggle for writing a fascinating story with such a tangled storyline and keeping it from getting disorienting. Honestly I first picked up this book because I saw Ms. Riggle was a Michigan author...I don't usually pick my books like that, but since it did push me towards the author, which I did not regret.

Casey had a lot going on in her life and I was perplexed with her decision to keep her past a secret, especially as she and Michael grew closer together and were attempting to establish a future together, to me it showed that she wasn't really ready for the next step. Nothing positive ever comes from secrets and lies.

Michael exhibited the typical guy attitude of the fact that he know something was wrong, but didn't really know how to confront it, so he was just waiting until the issue was forced to a head.  Then his ex-wife, Mallory, became a complication that Casey wasn't prepared to deal with . I couldn't help but think that Casey was gulled a bit to easily by her. I felt that as cynical as Casey was, she should have seen through her rather obvious ploy. 

 

Dylan was a dumb kid, but I felt sympathy for him and it brought forth a very realistic problem for parents these days. But as a parent, I had a hard time accepting Casey's privacy issues when it came to Dylan's computer. As a parent, I have my teenager's passwords to his accounts, I don't always check up on him, but he knows that I can and also knows that if there is an issue I will shut him down, but I still respect his privacy, to the point of his safety. I had to remind myself that Casey was trying to establish her self as a step-parent, because of that I could see her point in keeping the privacy, but when it became apparent he was missing, she really should have stepped up then, it was a SAFETY issue not a privacy issue then.

Angel reminded me why I was so happy to be blessed with boys and not teenage girls! Yikes, that girl would push me over the edge I think. And I really felt bad for the youngest, Jewel. She didn't understand quite what was going on.

It was a struggle watching Michael and Casey try to work together with all the added emotional baggage. But by the end of the book I was satisfied with how it turned out. Maybe now without all the deception, their relationship may actually have a chance.

Rating: 4

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