Almost Missed You (by Jessica Strawser)
Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser was hard for me to put down. Thankfully, I read this book during my holiday vacation so I had plenty of time to read in large chunks, and I was able to stay up as late as necessary to see how the story ended.
This story about fate and how the three main characters interpret and also question the sequence of events in their lives is superbly written. Initially, the book flows between the present and the past and is told from the perspectives of three main characters. Violet and Finn are a married couple with one young son, Bear. Caitlin has been Finn’s best friend forever. Violet believes her life is perfect and couldn’t wish for it to be any better. She is completely stunned when Ben abandons her on the beach during their vacation and takes their son. Ben further complicates his situation of kidnapping their son by showing up on Caitlin’s doorstep, demanding she help them hide from authorities.
I love that this story takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio, Asheville, North Carolina, and somewhere in Kentucky. Ohio holds a very special place in my heart. I used to live in North Carolina and love spending time in Asheville. And now, Kentucky is my home. I find it very heart warming to read about places I know well. I even learned of a restaurant/pub in Asheville that my husband and I will need to eat at the next time we visit.
This is a suspenseful story that explores the damage of secrets on marriages and friendships. Just when I thought the situation hit a peak and couldn’t get any worse…it did. This novel tells the story of how quickly and easily secrets can get out of control when we don’t cope well with significant life stressors. The story also reminds us how we can be resilient and move forward through adversity. I attended an author panel with Jessica Strawser at the Kentucky Book Festival, which you can read about here. During that panel, Jessica commented that she often leaves the endings of her books just vague enough for the reader to make their own conclusion as to what happened next for the characters. I think she did that perfectly in Almost Missed You. I love my version of what happened next for Violet.
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