12/08/2014
Early in Reardon’s moving, if at times maudlin first novel, Simon Connolly receives word of a shooting at the suburban Delaware high school attended by his two children. But worse news awaits: the police suspect his missing 17-year-old son, Jake, of being one of the gunmen. As Simon and wife Rachel, a workaholic corporate attorney, try to push aside the strains in their marriage to confront the unimaginable as a family, he can’t help revisiting key moments in his son’s life. Simon obsesses over what role his social awkwardness and his decision to be a stay-at-home dad might have played in the tragedy. Could he really have been so grievously wrong about what kind of boy he was raising? Although some of Simon’s memories turn teary, Reardon (Ready, Set, Play!, a sports book with retired NFL player Mark Schlereth) deftly builds suspense by setting his dual story lines on a collision course toward a shattering—and surprising—conclusion. Agent: Stephanie Rostan, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (Feb.)
A heart-wrenching yet ultimately uplifting story of psychological suspense in which a parent is forced to confront what he does-and does not-know about his teenage son, in the vein of Reconstructing Amelia, Defending Jacob, and We Need to Talk about Kevin.
While his successful wife goes off to her law office each day, Simon Connolly takes care of their kids, Jake and Laney. Now that they are in high school, the angst-ridden father should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He's seen the statistics, read the headlines. And now, his darkest fear is coming true. There has been a shooting at school.
Simon races to the rendezvous point, where he's forced to wait. Do they know who did it? How many victims were there? Why did this happen? One by one, parents are led out of the room to reunite with their children. Their numbers dwindle, until Simon is alone.
As his worst nightmare unfolds, and Jake is the only child missing, Simon begins to obsess over the past, searching for answers, for hope, for the memory of the boy he raised, for mistakes he must have made, for the reason everything came to this. Where is Jake? What happened in those final moments? Is it possible he doesn't really know his son? Or he knows him better than he thought?
Brilliantly paced, Finding Jake explores these questions in a tense and emotionally wrenching narrative. Harrowing and heartbreaking, surprisingly healing and redemptive, it is a story of faith and conviction, strength, courage, and love that will leave readers questioning their own lives, and those they think they know.
A heart-wrenching yet ultimately uplifting story of psychological suspense in which a parent is forced to confront what he does-and does not-know about his teenage son, in the vein of Reconstructing Amelia, Defending Jacob, and We Need to Talk about Kevin.
While his successful wife goes off to her law office each day, Simon Connolly takes care of their kids, Jake and Laney. Now that they are in high school, the angst-ridden father should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He's seen the statistics, read the headlines. And now, his darkest fear is coming true. There has been a shooting at school.
Simon races to the rendezvous point, where he's forced to wait. Do they know who did it? How many victims were there? Why did this happen? One by one, parents are led out of the room to reunite with their children. Their numbers dwindle, until Simon is alone.
As his worst nightmare unfolds, and Jake is the only child missing, Simon begins to obsess over the past, searching for answers, for hope, for the memory of the boy he raised, for mistakes he must have made, for the reason everything came to this. Where is Jake? What happened in those final moments? Is it possible he doesn't really know his son? Or he knows him better than he thought?
Brilliantly paced, Finding Jake explores these questions in a tense and emotionally wrenching narrative. Harrowing and heartbreaking, surprisingly healing and redemptive, it is a story of faith and conviction, strength, courage, and love that will leave readers questioning their own lives, and those they think they know.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170039944 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 02/24/2015 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
