Julie's Review: Look Again

Summary: When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: if Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves. Lisa Scottoline breaks new ground in Look Again, a thriller that’s both heart-stopping and heart-breaking, and sure to have new fans and book clubs buzzing. ~amazon.com

Review:  Look Again is a heartpounding, heartbreaking novel about the love of a mother and what lengths she will go to for her son. Ellen Gleeson is an immediately likable character. How can you not like a single mother who fell in love with a sick boy in ICU and upon learning he had no family, started the process of adopting him? Does she have flaws, of course but as a reader I could identify with those, which made me like her that much more.

The thing about Ellen though is once she see a picture of a missing boy that looks strikingly like her son Will, she just can't get it out of her head and move on. It haunts her and starts to affect her work, which is never good. As she starts to research her son's adoption, her life and the life of her son begins to unravel; quickly. It's too late for Ellen to stop poking around because now her life is at stake and everyone she loves is in jeopardy.

Look Again is a fast-paced, edge of your seat ride up until the very end. It is a book with twists and turns, that you don't see coming. It is a thriller with a big heart. You want Ellen and Will to be ok. You want for it to all work out in the end but like Ellen you have a gut-wrenching feeling that perhaps it won't. This is what keeps you tied to the story, the need to know if it turns out o.k.

I don't want to spoil the plot, so I won't say more than I already have about the book. What I will say is that Lisa Scottoline never fails to amaze me with her writing. I've been a fan a long time and I'm fairly certain I will continue to be for years to come. I believe I'm a few books behind on her novels but I know I'll catch up at some point.

If you haven't read her, then Look Again is a great place to start since it's a stand-alone novel.

Final Take: 4.25/5