Blink - by Sasha Dawn (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

When Josh was four, a little girl named Rachel was kidnapped and never found. Twelve years later, Chatham Clairborne appears, apparently on the hunt for her runaway sister. But Josh suspects she is also tied to the mystery of Rachel.

Josh falls for Chatham, but Chatham remains elusive. He can't tell if she's lying or not. But he's sure that once he finds out the truth about her, he will be able to unlock the mystery of Rachel's disappearance--and find out who the true Chatham Clairborne is.

But will he discover the truth in time? And does he really want to know what the truth is?

Review Quotes

A twisty, compelling adrenaline ride, Blink is both harrowing and hopeful. Sasha Dawn has written a gritty, fiendishly-layered mystery that pulls no punches--it grips you from the very beginning and doesn't let up until the final pages.--Erica O'Rourke, author of Dissonance and Resonance

In this engaging mystery from Dawn (Splinter), 16-year-old Josh Michaels has a lot on his plate. As he cares for his four-year-old twin sisters while their mother works long hours, and watches his mom make bad decisions with her abusive ex-husband, Josh struggles to balance his home life with school and dreams of a football scholarship. When the beautiful, elusive Chatham Claiborne appears on a beach in his tiny Chicago suburb, Josh is immediately drawn to her and soon finds himself pulled into her story about a runaway sister, abusive foster parents, and a mysterious bag of cash. But after a child's body is found, parts of Chatham's tale start to ring false. Could she be connected to a girl who went missing years earlier? Although a plot link involving Josh's mother's ex strains credibility, Josh is a likable character whose drama-filled family is heartbreaking and otherwise realistic. The mystery surrounding Chatham provides intriguing and unexpected plot developments, and teen readers will find much to relate to and enjoy here.--Publishers Weekly

In this gritty and well-written romantic thriller, a high school football player with a troubled home life meets a mysterious girl on the beach. Josh falls hard for Chatham Claiborne. She is searching for something, but what? She claims to be looking for her runaway sister, but Josh suspects she's not telling him the whole truth. Could she somehow be linked to a little girl abducted years before from that very same beach, and never found? As Josh gets to know Chatham, he also struggles with his mother's abusive and violent ex-husband. Despite a restraining order, Damien won't stay away, and Josh's mother sometimes seems to welcome him back. Josh shoulders the responsibility of taking care of his young sisters, working hard for a football scholarship, and puzzling over his developing relationship with Chatham. After a somewhat slow start, tensions heighten and the second half of the novel is gripping, with unexpected twists and turns. The romance between Josh and Chatham is believable and sweet, and Josh, rough around the edges but with a heart of gold, is an appealing main character. Chatham is a bit less developed, however. VERDICT A solid purchase for older high school students who enjoy suspense, mystery, and romance.--School Library Journal

Josh is at the beach, caring as usual for his little half-sisters, when he meets beautiful Chatham Claiborne. He falls for her instantly, and when he finds out she's traveled from Georgia to his small Illinois town to look for her missing sister, he's on board to help her. As the two become closer, however, he's afraid to suck Chatham into his dysfunctional family life, especially now that his violent ex-stepfather is back in the picture; he also realizes that Chatham is hiding some large secrets, and that she and her sister may have a connection to his town's legendary missing persons case. This is solid noir, with complicated double twists, questions about who's to be believed, and a persistent sinister threat. It's got more heart than much of the genre, though, in its characters. Chatham is an original take on the classy noir dame, and she remains a sympathetic and admirable character even as her story grows more shadowy. Josh, bitterly sacrificing his life in the face of his mother's incompetence and his stepfather's physical abuse, is no patsy but an honorable and haunted guy torn between his questioning impulses and his yearning for Chatham. While there's some foreshadowing of the outcome, the real pleasure is in unknotting the tangled skeins of the past, and readers won't have to follow every turn to enjoy the process.--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This complex and layered mystery begins its twisty ride when a small Chicago suburb is rocked by the kidnapping of Rachel Bachton. The trail eventually goes cold, but 12 years later, 16-year-old Josh still feels a connection with the girl who reminds him of his younger twin sisters. And then a mysterious newcomer arrives: Chatham Claiborne, who's searching for her own missing sister, and despite the obvious secrets buried under her skin, Josh is nevertheless drawn to her. While the pace is speedy, Dawn (Oblivion, 2014) still manages to add plenty of emotional depth to the story, folding in Josh's relationship with his mother and her abusive ex-husband and the process of Chatham slowly dropping her elusive nature. While the well-plotted mystery is engrossing, Chatham's tightly held past and cagey nature might make it difficult for some readers to connect to the story. Still, the gritty realism and attention-grabbing opening will hook fans of suspenseful thrillers all the way to its satisfying conclusion.--Booklist

3Q 4P S Josh is enjoying the end of summer, watching his young sisters play on the sandy shore of Lake Michigan and relishing time away from his erratic, demanding mother, when a mysterious girl enters into his life. She is beautiful and creative, with a sweet Georgia drawl that Josh cannot resist. Even after he finds that the girl--she says her name is Chatham--enrolled in his high school, and even after he and Chatham start to build a relationship, he feels as if there is something off about Chatham. She is not who she says she is; but then again, even she is not sure who she is. The mystery builds as Chatham, a twelve-year-old kidnapping cold case, a blond girl with the shamrock tattoo, and Josh's mother's violent ex-husband become entwined in a complicated tangle of lies, secrets, and abuse.

Part romance, part mystery, Blink is about not knowing: not knowing the truth, not knowing one's own history, not knowing what motivates other people, and not knowing what to do when crazy scenarios present themselves. And . . . it is about the frustration of not knowing, especially for a lifelong problem-solver like Josh who has spent his sixteen years protecting his mom and his sisters, along with himself. Not knowing means that the ones he loves are in danger, and matters are only going to get worse. For mystery fans who like to ride the wave of suspense (with a romantic twist), Blink is a good read.--VOYA