Book Review: The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon by Marcy McCreary

About the Book

In the waning days of the Catskills hotel era, Stanley and Rachel Roth, the owners of the Cuttman Hotel, were practically dynasty―third generation proprietors of a sprawling resort with a grand reputation. The glamorous and gregarious matriarch, Rachel. The cunning and successful businessman, Stan. Four beautiful children. A perfect family deserving of respect and loyalty. Or so it seemed. Fast forward forty years. The Roths have lost their clout. When skeletal remains are found on the side of the road, a 1978 missing persons case—involving a coffee shop waitress who worked at the Cuttman—is reopened. Each member of the Roth family holds a clue to the case, but getting them to admit what they know will force Detective Susan Ford to face a family she’d hoped never to see again.

It will have you guessing who did what to whom…until the bitter end.

My Review

I loved this one! It reminded me of the Robert Dugoni Tracy Crosswhite series – not in any derivative way but in the fantastic writing and presentation of a strong female detective protagonist.

The audiobook narrator was marvelous and had a magnificent ability to give every character a unique voice without ever sounding melodramatic or overdone. Instead each character was voiced in a subtle manner that perfectly captured the essence of who they were to the story.

Pair that with strong writing, excellent pacing and plotting, and fantastic relationships between well-developed characters and you have a huge hit. I loved the back and forth in perspective between the historical rollout via Trudy’s memories and the concurrent activity in resolving the cold case. It was managed very well, such that you were always able to keep track of what was going on and what time frame you were in, even in an audiobook format. The familial relationships were very realistic and I especially loved the father-daughter interplay.

I would love to see this turn into a series and am delighted to see it referred to as book 1. Until then, I’m going to have to look for anything else I can find from Marcy McCreary!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.