Gone But Not Forgotten

May 1, 2023
Her mother's death begins a cascade of increasingly criminal traumas for a Boston law student. Claire Taylor's dementia has deepened, but she seems safe in Thompson House, a residential memory-care facility where she's bonded with medication nurse Terry Walsh. When she unexpectedly dies soon after repeatedly mentioning the name Sheila Fairclough, her daughter, Olivia, is at a loss in more ways than one. She can't help but be struck by the coincidence that the newest member of her study group at Portia Law School is Boston cop Ryan Fairclough, whose officious intervention had earlier forced Olivia to stop caring for her mother at home. Neglected by her husband, psychiatric resident Daniel Buchanan; bereft of her only other relative; and subject to a troubling series of attacks, from the theft of an orchid someone's sent to commemorate her mother's death to the slashing of her tires, Liv determines to track down Sheila Fairclough. Her search leads her to a raft of unholy revelations about her mother, who'd told Liv years ago that she'd fled with her from Liv's father, and her own identity. Along the way, she finds just enough time to apply to become the legal guardian for Brady Parro, the 2-day-old baby who inherited an opioid addiction from his late mother, who turns out to be in even greater danger than she is. Dorsey escalates the tension masterfully until Liv uncovers one secret too many and lands both herself and Brady in mortal danger. An endless supply of family skeletons compete for attention as they tumble from the closet.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 22, 2023
Dorsey (Salt Water Wounds) capitalizes on her nerve-wracking premise in this impressive standalone thriller. Claire Taylor fled her murderous, mentally unstable husband when their daughter, Olivia, was a child. Now almost 30, married, and a law student in Boston, Olivia devotes her days to caring for her mom, who has Alzheimer’s. She’s never known much about her family’s past, and is shocked when, one afternoon, her mother signs a check with a name Olivia’s never seen before. Questioning her mom gets Olivia nowhere, and her desire to learn the truth is complicated when her mother dies suddenly the day after signing the check. Just before that happens, Olivia narrowly avoids being run down by a stranger in a car. Setting out to investigate her past and the circumstances of her mother’s death, Olivia meets resistance from people close to her. Dorsey makes Olivia, whose blooming paranoia could become grating in lesser hands, a sympathetic lead, and her quest is genuinely engrossing. This solid psychological suspense novel should appeal to Lisa Unger fans. Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Literary.