Missing Innocence: A Chandler County Novel

Tina
Susedik
Genre: 
Mystery

Sally York was born with a shortened right arm with only two fused fingers. She speaks with a terrible stutter. She has been bullied her entire life by everyone, but especially by her older sister, Faye. DEA Agent Nathan Moon is on assignment to determine if Sally is involved in a drug ring. Under cover of night, he looks through her green house and office but finds nothing. He decides he will need to pose as the deliveryman for her gardening business so he can further investigate. While acting as deliveryman, he learns that Sally is anything but handicapped. Even while going through her house, Nathan still finds nothing to implicate her. She seems so innocent in so many areas, including that of love. Nate finds he is fast falling for his suspect and has no clue what to do!

“Missing Innocence” introduces us to a rarity – a physically imperfect heroine. It is delightful to see how she manages to do everything for herself including living on her own in spite of her perceived deficiency. The subject matter is interesting, but told in a slow, dragging manner, which fails to engage the reader. The author keeps changing Sally’s sister Faye’s name to “Faith”, adding confusion to the story. After being admonished by both her father and grandfather about her hateful attitude towards Sally, Faye immediately becomes loving (the same night!) which is not believable. However, Ms. Susedik brilliantly plays the naïve Sally against the hardened Nate, making for a sweet and refreshing tale of romance. 

Belinda Wilson