Book Review - Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Photo Credit - Amazon

Hazel DeFord has a deep and dark secret that continues to haunt her. In 1943, a young ten year old Hazel was picking blackberries with her younger three year old sister, Maggie.  Hazel momentarily leaves Maggie alone to discover Maggie has disappeared upon her return. 

More than seventy years later, Hazel is still haunted by the guilt while the mystery remains unsolved. Hazel's secret has strained her relationship with her daughter, Diane, who is frustrated by her mother's paranoia and being overly overprotective. Diane's daughter, Meghan, on the other hand, loves her grandmother's affection and attention. When Meghan is hurt in an accident, she decides to use her recovery time to visit her grandmother. However, when she arrives, she finds out her mother has also planned to tag along as well.  Diane and Meghan uncover Hazel's dark secret while visiting. Meghan is a cold case detective and volunteers to help her grandmother uncover the truth behind Maggie's disappearance. Will the three generations of DeFord women be able to survive each other? Will Meghan be able to solve the mystery behind Maggie's disappearance?

The novel had an interesting premise, but it failed to deliver. I felt like the story dragged on and on until the last few chapters and I felt like the book could have detailed some characters better. For example, Hazel and her late husband's relationship; did he know about Hazel's secret? I also felt that Meghan didn't really help much with solving the mystery behind Maggie's disappearance. Her partner had a bigger role in solving it and than she did while the "mystery" was quite obvious from the beginning. I like the author's writing style so I might be open to reading more of her novels.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**