This book was really hard to get into since there wasn’t one character in the whole book that I cared about. Fifteen-year-old Leah is thought to have drowned when she was out in the ocean one night. Her mother later discovers that Leah may have been involved with an older man and she’s determined to find out who that man was. I really didn’t like the victim, Leah, at all, and I had absolutely no sympathy for her and didn’t care what happened to her. She was supposed to be a raving beauty and everyone loved her. Unfortunately, what Leah had in looks, she lacked in brains and common sense. She did so many incredibly stupid things and I was tired of people using her age as an excuse for her stupidity and bad choices when she knew exactly what she was doing. I thought this book would be full of suspense, but for the most part it was suspenseless and alternated between boring and annoying with too much teen drama. Definitely not for me. ( )

Leah is a popular and beautiful teenager and she's nervous about starting her first day of school tomorrow. She decides to take a moonlit paddle on the beach of her mother's inn, The Black Dolphin. She disappears without a trace. The police believe it to be death by drowning. Her mother, Emmy, is devastated. In the days that follow, she finds a blog her daughter created as well as pornographic pictures that hint at a secret relationship with an older man. Emmy is suspicious of everyone and she's hellbent on finding out who this monster is.

I was drawn in right from the start. Great writing, perfect pacing, nice setting, believable characters and believable situations, suspenseful. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on! I definitely had a lot of different emotions throughout this book. And I absolutely fell in love with the dog, Bo! ( )

This book starts with a bang and keeps you enthralled until the last page. The mom is so well written that the reader is able to feel her sorrow and understand her feelings of betrayal. It's a story of family and love and friendship with lots of other unsavory pieces.

Emily is 36 and owns a hotel in the Florida Keys where she lives with her daughter, Leah. Emily and Leah have always been close and Leah is a popular person in her circle of friends. Right at the beginning of the book, Emily allows Leah to go on a night time swim by herself and when Emily goes to check on her, Leah is gone. Even though a body is never found, the police quickly turn this from a search and rescue to a death by drowning incident and they close the books on it. When Leah is finally able to go into Leah's room - weeks after her drowning - she finds a diary that Leah had been keeping and is shocked. Not only are there nude pictures of an older man (no face is showing) but there is a blog that describes Leah's infatuation with an older man who she refers to as Ry. Emily's heartbreak turns to deep rage as she sets out to unmask who this monster is who has stolen her daughter's innocence--and perhaps more. Who is this man? Is it the new youth minister who spent extra time with some of the girls, is it the man who lives in bungalow 3 at her hotel who no one knew much about, is it his son who visits on summer vacation or someone else on the island who was more than interested in her daughter and was luring the romantic Leah into trying things that she is uncomfortable with.

This book had me guessing throughout and it wasn't until the last 50 pages that the older man was revealed. It came as a bit of a shock and I wish there had been a few more clues along the way pointing toward this person so it wouldn't have been so much of a surprise.

Overall, this is a tense and exciting book that will have you turning the pages until the end.

thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Wow, this book is a total one hundred percent improvement over the prior novel by Ms. Tate. The prior novel I could not stand the characters and even did not finish the book. However, with this book, I liked the characters and could not read it fast enough.

This book is told from the two points of views of Leah and Emmy. I liked this as it drew me in and brought me closer towards both Leah and Emmy. I really felt the emotions of Emmy. Where Leah was involved; I have mixed emotions towards her. On one hand I wanted to protect her but at the same time I wanted to yell and shake her and ask her to wake up. The relationship she found herself in, it very scary. This is because it happens in real life. You read about it in the news.

Because of the nature of the story; I felt uncomfortable but also guilty that I enjoyed this book so much. Fans of thrillers should pick up a copy of this book. You don't want to be the one that misses out. ( )