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1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Lose Precious Time on this Book!, Oct 23 2004
By A Customer
I was highly displeased by this book and didn't like most of the characters. I wish I could rate this one zero stars.The story opens in the late summer of 2002 with divorced mother Cindy Carver. Cindy is a strident potty mouthed screamer who has an argument with her prima donna daughter Julia. At 21 Julia is an aspiring actress and is at sword's points with Cindy, her 19-year-old sister Heather and Heather's live-in boyfriend, Duncan. (How many parents would permit their daughter to install her live-in lover in their homes?) Prima Donna manages to get everybody's juices flowing and even refuses to walk her wheaten terrier, Elvis. She leaves in a huff for an audition with a well known director. When Julia fails to turn up for a fitting for her cousin's wedding, her equally strident aunt Leigh and her strident, domineering grandmother Norma all have the collective hissy fit. Finally she is declared a missing person and Cindy, a foul-mouthed shrew will leave no stone unturned to find her. Julia left her to move in with Tom in 1995 and only just returned to Cindy, Cindy vows she will never lose her again. The list of possible suspects is longer than one would expect. Julia's father Tom, an entertainment lawyer might have some insight. He is also a cruel, boorish oaf. An unstable neighbor and her husband are also possible suspects. The director for whom Julia auditioned is yet another. Cindy's silly, twittering movie pals are not to be crossed off the suspect list as well. Cindy's domineering mother and strident, bossy younger sister barge their way into her home during Julia's absence. There are times when one wants to smack Leigh because she is such a whiner and cries about childhood slights. She came across as bossy and abrasive. The ending was a bust and a dismal disappointment. The only character that was likable was Cindy's new boyfriend, a gentle accountant named Neil. He should be called Saint Neil for putting up with her. I didn't like the way egregious cruelty was covered up and unpunished. Cindy does some remarkably stupid things. Like idiot Gail Walton of "Life Sentence" infamy before her, Cindy takes police investigative matters into her own hands and actually attacks somebody she suspects of abducting her daughter. It is also interesting to note that Gail Walton lost a daughter named Cindy and in this book, the role is reversed - a Cindy is a parent of a missing child. Whereas Cindy Walton was murdered, Cindy Carver is a raving ninny. I also didn't like the way she nearly agreed to having an affair with Tom while Julia was missing. This is not a book that I could in good conscience ever recommend.
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