Review: "The Girl Who Stayed" by Tanya Anne Crosby

Zoe Rutherford’s life was a mess and had been since the day her little sister, Hannah, went missing 29 years ago. This was a pivotal point in her life. To compound matters, for reasons known only to Gabi Donovan, the last person to see Hannah alive, Zoe is accused of killing her sister. Although the investigation proves otherwise, doubts have been cast, in her parents’ minds and even in her own mind. Her mother withdrawals and her father takes out his anger on Zoe, both verbally and physically. Now, this is all in the past. She runs from an abusive relationship that she has endured for eight years and comes back to her family home to sell it. She is forced to take a good hard look at her life and her relationships to determine what path life will follow.

The story is told in the third person with flash backs to explain Zoe’s reactions to her present circumstances. It helps the reader to understand why Zoe would settle for the life that she has for so long and her fear of beginning again. It poignantly examines how emotional trauma can affect the decisions that are made as an adult. Throw in some unexpected twists along the way and you have a novel that keeps you reading to the end.

Be sure to read this wonderful novel when it is available. It caught my interest from the first page for both the personal conflicts and the mystery.