If you are looking for a quick thriller, check this next book out. I devoured it over 24 hours.
Goodreads Blurb
Forgotten Toys by Ashley Laino
When you look in an empty pool, you don’t usually expect to see a body at the bottom but in a a small town in eastern Pennsylvania called Pikesville one summer, that is exactly what happens.
Pikesville is quaint community that is faced with the disappearance of a local teenager Jenna Hayes and the town is turned upside down. When Jenna is found brutally murdered at the bottom of the town’s abandoned pool, the town is devastated, but to Sarah Moore, Jenna was just a girl whose name she heard around sometimes, in some circles.
What does this have to do with her? She is dealing with her own issues, anyway. But when Sarah’s sister, Chloe, goes missing, Sarah must uncover a murderer before he gets to her, too, or before it’s too late.
Review
This was such a fast read. Not only because it wasn’t dragged out, but because I really wanted to know what was going to happen. And there was such a lot that could happen. The more you read the more you realize that forgotten toys is a great analogy for the characters in this book. All of them are broken in some way or another, making for a well-developed, multidimensional bunch. In fact, I got as much enjoyment reading about the various family complexities as I did the murder plot.
Sarah is such an intense character. The author made me feel at points that I was Sarah. I could really feel her struggle not only in finding out what happened her sister, but everything she was dealing with regarding her eating disorder. There were times I sympathized with Sarah and times that I felt protective of her, but there were also times I wanted to give her a good shake and tell her cop herself on.
We know that Pikesville is a small town with not much going on there but the author doesn’t provide that much description of the place. How we understand what Pikesville is really like is reflected through the actions of the characters: it is a place that breaks people and not many people get out.
Overall, I really enjoyed Forgotten Toys, much more than I originally thought I would, if I’m to be honest. I certainly recommend it as a quick yet intense thriller.
Forgotten Toys is available to buy now.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Joyful Antidotes 