Broken Pieces

Carla Cassidy

Signet, Sep 2008, $6.99

ISBN: 9780451224897

The assault from an unknown person frightened teenager Mariah Sayers as she expected to die; instead the man he zipped his pants back up and claimed he broke her and owned her before leaving.  Frightened she ran from her hometown of Plains Point, Missouri.  She vowed never to return and for almost sixteen years she avoided the place.

However with the death of her father, Mariah accompanied by her teenage daughter Kelsey has come home with plans to sell the family house.  However, Mariah and Kelsey feel as if they finally came home as each enjoys living here and the mom is seeing Jack.  Still, the shadow of the monster lingers in the background until a girl is murdered; Mariah believes her assailant is the killer just from the little she knows.  This time she plans not to run as she decides instead to uncover the identity of her fiend. 

Using the topics of teen rape and child abuse, Carla Cassidy provides a strong romantic suspense thriller starring a brave flawed woman and a deep support cast especially her daughter and her boyfriend, but especially the villain who for the most part is off page yet his few words emphasize the terror he causes.  Years after her harrowing incident Mariah still suffers from nightmares as in his way the predator truly owns her.  However, this time she refuses to run.  Lights will be left on long after the reader finishes BROKEN PIECES.

Harriet Klausner