Onyx reviews: The Fading Place by Mary SanGiovanni

Reviewed by Bev Vincent, 01/28/2014

Conventional wisdom states that a person should never get between a mother bear and her cubs. But what happens when two mother bears lay claim to the same cub? This is the situation that develops when a crazed woman carjacks Charlie Van Houten and her baby daughter Haley. Simone has no interest in the car, nor indeed in Charlie. She just wants Haley. Charlie is only of use to her until Simone can get to her final destination

By the end of the first paragraph, Charlie is staring down the barrel of a gun and being ordered into her car, where Haley is already strapped into the child's seat in the back. Simone has the upper hand from page one, leaving Charlie in survival mode for most of the story. Every time she comes up with a possible way to turn the tables, Simone thwarts her. Even a flat tire and the possibly fortuitous arrival of a cop doesn't resolve the situation.

Their trek takes them to the edge of a forest with a reputation for swallowing people up and never spitting them out again. The closer they get to Simone's intended destination, the more the women begin to communicate. Behind a face seemingly devoid of human devotion, Charlie discovers a tormented soul. She learns Simone's tragic story, but even though she can feel sorry for the woman's plight—and she does—that doesn't mean she will stop fighting for her child's life and her own. Charlie's own past wasn't all roses. She survived an abusive step-father and an accident injury was supposed to mean she couldn't get pregnant. Her experience with Haley's father is another sore point in more recent history. Haley is her whole life now, so she's not going to give her up—not while she's still drawing breath. Once Charlie understands why Simone was put in what she calls the "fading place," she knows that drastic measures may be called for.

The Fading Place is a little like an episode of Criminal Minds, except there's no BAU to save the day. If Charlie is going to get free of the grips of this demented woman, she's going to have to do it herself. This eBook novella starts with an adrenaline-filled situation, a parent's worst nightmare, and never lets up until the dramatic climax.