Although not a YA genre book, I was drawn to the story because the main characters were teenagers. They tried to solve the disappearance of their cousin and babysitter, who disappeared years-before while they were asleep upstairs in their bedroom. I liked the story's premise; plus, the adequate lists of suspects and the way those suspect characters were woven into the plotline. At times uncomfortable aspects were presented, yet those added to the overall suspense. I highly recommend this skillfully written novel to readers who like amateur sleuths they can root for, along with a few plot twists in the tale. ( )

Laura McHugh has just released her new book - Safe and Sound. I really enjoyed her debut novel, The Weight of Water. (my review) And I really enjoyed Safe and Sound as well.
McHugh again does a brilliant job of building the setting. Beaumont Missouri is a small town that the younger residents can't wait to leave. There's a heaviness to the town, dusty, dirty and worn with nothing to redeem it. Some folks get out - with a sigh of relief. Some stay. And some go missing...

Sisters Amelia and Kylee's older cousin Grace, is one of the missing. The girls are determined once again to try and find out what happened to her. Someone has to know something. And yes, omeone does indeed know something...

McHugh's prose are dark and gritty. There are moments where the sun shines through, letting hope in. And times where the 'wrong' comes to visit.

The plotting was excellent - with a finale that I couldn't predict. The ending was apt and right - I wish I knew what happened after the last page. An excellent read for me. ( )

Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh is a very highly recommended mystery following two sisters trying to find out the truth behind their older cousin's disappearance from their home in Beaumont, Missouri.

Amelia(Mimi) and Kylee were found safe upstairs in their bedroom when their teenage cousin Grace, who was babysitting them, disappeared. The sisters are now getting ready to leave the dead-end small town of Beaumont after high school graduation, just as Grace always told them to do. When the remains of a young woman are found on a piece of property outside of town, the sisters immediately wonder if it is Grace. There was so much blood found in the kitchen that night... As the girls begin to look into the identity of the body found they must continue to survive in a town that is cruel to young women and hope.

The narrative is told in the present day through chapters from the point-of-view of Amelia and Kylee while alternating chapters have the events from the past unfolding through Grace's point-of-view. This was a very effective plot device which serves to keep tensions high in both time periods. Readers know Grace disappears and is presumed dead due to the amount of blood at the scene. Seeing Grace grow up and her absolute devotion to her younger cousins establishes the close bond between the cousins. They were really as close as sisters.

Grace, Amelia, and Kylee are all believable, fully realized characters and you will want the best for them even while Grace is experiencing horrors of abuse by an uncle. There are so many layers of secrets lurking in both their families and with their friends. Additionally, the setting is a major character. Beaumont is a hard-scrabble, dead-end town where the best job is at the meat packing plant and it seems everyone is just barely scraping by.
The writing is absolutely wonderful, both descriptive and emotional. I marked several quotes, including one from an elderly former teacher, Mrs. Mummer: "When you're dying, Amelia, you remember your regrets. They crop up like stones in the river when the water gets low. Try to have as few as possible." For such a dark and desperate story there was one discussion that had me laughing, as it will others who know the Missouri/Kansas rivalry. (Condensing the discussion: What do you think it'll it be like? Living someplace else? / Probably something like when Dorothy lands in Oz. / Great. Maybe we'll get hearts and brains and courage. / That's only if you're from Kansas. We're from Missouri. We'll be lucky to get a can of Bud Light and a bootstrap.)

The final denouement was shocking and surprising, but also felt a bit incomplete. 4.5 Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/04/safe-and-sound.html ( )

This was another excellent mystery/thriller/family drama from Laura McHugh. I loved the dual timelines of Grace in the past and Kylee & Amelia in the present, trying to figure out what happened to her. Some of Grace's chapters were very hard to read - the abuse she suffered was so awful. I would have liked an epilogue to give some closure to the characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. ( )

Make no mistake, Laura McHugh understands dysfunctional family dynamics, and spinning tales that move back and forth in time, better than any current author. Beginning with her Thriller Award-winning debut, THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD, and now with SAFE AND SOUND, she has solidified that status. This story revolves around sisters Amelia and Kylee and their cousin Grace and the no-future town of Beaumont, Missouri. Six years earlier, Grace went missing, presumably abducted and likely murdered. The sisters, who want nothing more that to leave the dead-end town, first set out to uncover what happened to Grace, and find her, dead or alive. As the story shifts between Grace before the abduction and the sisters after, dark family secrets boil to the surface. Who took Grace? An itinerant stranger, or someone close to home? How far would the killer go to cover the crime? As the sisters peel back the layers, they find themselves in a dangerous spiral, unsure who to trust, and who to fear. This one you will put down until the final page.

DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series ( )