Thanks so much to NetGalley, Berkley Books and David Bell for the opportunity to read his latest thriller!

This is the second book of Bell's that I have read and I've enjoyed them both. Even though this one is over 400 pages, it's an easy, quick read. It's divided up into very short chapters and the story is captivating enough to keep reading just one more chapter.

Bill is still grieving the death of his wife just a year and a half ago when his daughter Summer goes missing, along with her best friend, Haley. Days later, the girls are found in a park - Haley is dead and Summer is clinging to life. While in the hospital, Bill realizes that he knows very little about his daughter's life. He has tried to give her space and freedom after her mom's death and realizes that he might have given her too much.

I don't want to go into too much more detail because there are lots and twists and surprises, along with some plots that you may figure out. A great read!

David Bell’s ‘Bring Her Home’ hits an emotional punch on many fronts and results in a page-turner. The mystery is not anything special, the reader can figure out the “twists” fairly easily. It is the evolution of the Bill, the father, which is the real story. He is a flawed character that finally recognizes the mistake he made. We don’t know why he is the way he is, but we know that anything from his past isn’t too bad because his sister Paige comes to help in his time of need. Her tenacity helps Bill take steps that any desperate parent with a missing child will do.

‘Bring her Home’ feels a bit like ‘The Girl on the Train’ and will be a good summer read. If you are a parent, you may start asking your kids where they are going when they leave the house more!

"She's home"


This is my first book by David Bell. After seeing the beautiful cover and reading the blurb, I couldn't wait to request it.

Bring Her Home is narrated through the eyes of Bill Price, a broken-hearted father after his teenage daughter Summer goes missing. He's devastated especially since just over a year ago he lost his wife in an accident. Neither Summer nor Bill has processed their loss well and they are still grieving. Before Summer's disappearance, her relationship with Bill had been difficult. Summer has begun testing her boundaries and questioning Bill's authority repeatedly.

Summer and her friend Haley are found at the park two days later. Haley is dead and Summer has been beaten to within an inch of her life. Bill leaves everything behind to stay at the hospital with his daughter. Bill's sister Paige comes to stay with him and give him the support he needs. The police have no good leads but Bill believes Summer is still in danger and he will do anything to protect her.

And here is where I stop....It's hard to say more without giving the plot away. I can say that it has two good twists I enjoyed.

Now, to the main issue I had with the story. My main problem was with Bill. I liked him for the most part. I could feel his desperation to help Summer in any way he could. However, he also made several hasty decisions and if anyone needed anger management counseling ASAP, it was him. Anything made him explode. His behavior was irrational. I'm not saying that his grief and pain was not affecting his judgment but some of the situations he placed himself in were just dumb. I'm surprised Detective Hawkins, didn't throw him in jail multiple times.

Overall, Bring Her Home had a suspenseful narrative that kept me guessing of what was to come until the end.

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Being a small town, KY girl, I was excited to read this one - and I wasn't disappointed! The story is well-written, the characters are interesting and plain-spoken (the way most of us are), and the plot was full of twists. The story is told from the perspective of main character, Bill Price. Bill is quick to anger and shows his temper often, which is understandable given the circumstances. There are a few things in the story that were a bit unrealistic, but they worked for keeping the suspense going. The book is lengthy, but very hard to put down. It's gripping and the flow is such that you sit down with the intention of reading one or two chapters and before you realize it, you've read ten! Overall, this compelling thriller kept me turning pages and is one that I would easily recommend.

Still reeling a year and a half after the death of his wife, Bill Price’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, disappear. Days later, the girls are found in a city park. Haley is dead at the scene, while Summer is left beaten beyond recognition and clinging to life.

Devastated, Bill holds vigil over Summer’s bandaged body. The only sound she makes is one word – No. In fact, the more time Bill spends with Summer, the more he lets his mind imagine what happened and who could have done this horrific damage to another human being. He’s also beginning to wonder, if the injured girl in the hospital bed is really his daughter.

When Bill discovered new information about Summer’s life Bill is shocked to discover things about both his wife and daughter that begin to tear him apart….

*** Wow, wow, and wow! BRING HER HOME is definitely one of the harder books I’ve read to put down without wanting to finish in one sitting. The suspense was tremendous wondering if the injured girl would recover, never mind the fact that Bill had to attend Summer’s best friend Haley’s funeral which was an emotional moment where I needed a tissue.

Going through the psychological roller coaster along with Bill kept the emotions high and exciting. In fact, just when you thought – ah so that’s the answer – another issue would pop up sending you off to try and discover and digest the new information. While reading you might think you know the answers but believe me, the TWIST is waiting for you when you least expect it.

Bottom Line: Awesome read keeping the suspense high as well as the readers emotion. VERY highly recommended.

Marilyn Rondeau

Great read, kept the suspense going for most of the book, although some of the details were figured out early on. It is a fairly fast read with not a lot of characters to keep up with. However, some of the characters I could never tell if I was to love or hate them or suspect them or root for them, probably the intention! If looking for a beach read to while away the hours of the summer I'd recommend picking this up. I'll be looking for more of David's books to see if I like them even more.
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review to be posted on my blog in July on Thriller Thursday

Bring Her Home by David Bell is a quick, distractive read, but one which is very predictable. There are no real surprises here. There is a lot of (understandable) parental angst as Bill searches for his missing daughter Summer, hoping to bring her home safely. The psychological tension comes from his parental pain, and from waiting for the dime to drop for him on things that the reader has seen coming a mile away, and which other (poorly written) characters drop in his lap with a "you're not going to like this" or a "have you ever thought about it in this way?"

If you're reading for a few hours of distraction, this has it covered. If you're looking for a book with surprises or depth, look elsewhere.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a difficult book to review. Why you may ask? Because if I give a good detailed review of the book, I will give away key pieces of information that will ruin the book for those who want to read it. Here is what I will provided without trying to give too much away.

This is a fast-paced thriller that will grip you from the very beginning and not let up until the end. There are shorter chapters, and like most readers you are like, "Okay.... I want to read one more.... Okay one more... Okay..." And then before you know it, it is up past your bedtime and you have finished the book!

When two girls Haley and Summer go missing one night at first there is not concern, until they do not return home. They are later found beaten so badly that they are pretty much unrecognizable. One is left dead, and one is alive, but barely. This is just the beginning of the story, and takes off from this point. I would love to go into more detail, but like I said, how do you provide details when each one gives away pieces of the story.

I loved this book. It is right up my alley. I am so excited over this novel, and have loved being able to recommend it to my community and followers and get them ready to read an outstanding book in this genre. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review!

A thriller about two teenage girls who disappear and the struggle one's father goes through to find his daughter and figure out what happened. The premise was good, I thought, but the writing needed a bit more editing. My biggest problem was with the main character--he drove me crazy! Although I guess I might react in some of the same ways if my child disappeared. Some elements of the plot were very predictable, while others kept me guessing! This would make a good beach read and could probably make a good movie.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book.

This book was easy to get swept up by and hard to put down. Every parent's nightmare is when their child does not come home. But then when two girls are found badly beaten, one dead and the other near death, the story becomes intense. Lots of twists and turns while finding out bits and pieces of clues make this mystery interesting. I found it hard to believe that DNA testing wasn't done to identify the girls. Also thought that the last chapter of wrapping everything up was a little drawn out. Very enjoyable! Recommend!

David Bell created the most thrilling and sometimes even scary atmosphere, vivid images of Bill’s despair will be flooding your head and the constant twists and plot turns will keep you on the edge of your seat!

This is my first experience reading a David Bell book and, honestly, I enjoyed it! For a book of almost 500 pages, it reads very quickly because there is no way for you to take a break as there are still so many mysteries to unravel!

There was only one reason behind my rather low rating for this book, the fact that from the beginning I knew (was almost 100% certain) who was responsible for this tragedy. There still were some twists that surprised me a lot and I did not expect, but for the most part I was just waiting for the book to confirm my hypothesis.

Full review will be posted on my blog closer to the release date.

One twist after another, all unexpected but well thought out. The clues were all there and, once something was explained, I kept thinking I should have seen it coming but somehow didn't. Bill just found his daughter, Summer, who has been missing for days. She is badly hurt and her best friend is dead, both having been viciously attacked. Bill wants answers. He works closely with the Police, but fears they may not be doing all they can, so he also tries to find out more about the girls' last movements before disappearing. There are plenty of suspects, red herrings and many surprises. Still, my favorite part was Bill's relationship to his sister Paige, who drops everything to help him. Anyone close to their siblings will find this part relatable. Bill lost his wife quite recently to an accident and his best friend and neighbor is moving out of town, so Paige is his only support. Bill is very persistent, sometimes to his own detriment, but he is a father trying to protect his daughter. This is really an excellent story about obsession and love.

First he lost his wife. She fell, hit her head and died. Now his daughter was missing...

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published July 11th.

Bill worked hard, felt he had a happy family, and misses his wife dreadfully. He can't lose his daughter, too!

The story starts with a report that she is badly beaten and in the hospital. His sister comes and stays with him and they take turns staying in the room with the girl. Then he and his sister begin to wonder if that is really Summer under all those bandages. It turns out to be her friend. However, the other parents have already buried a body. Whose was that? It turns out there three girls involved and Summer is still missing.

As Bill frantically tries to find his daughter, he comes crossways with the cop investigating the case. He doesn't take his advice, butts in where he isn't wanted, and he's searching for answers he can't find. He accuses the boys in the school, wonders if his wife was having an affair with a neighbor, and almost loses his mind during this search.

What he learns will change his world. He thought he had trouble understanding women but that's not his only problem. There are ironic twists and turns to this tale. The story ends well but not everything is happy ever after. Most of life isn't.

I have enjoyed Bell's mystery thrillers and looked forward to BRING HER HOME. Bell delivered a suspenseful thriller with twists and plenty of red herrings as one Dad frantically tries to discover what happened to his fifteen-year-old daughter.

Bill Price, a widowed father, becomes distressed when his fifteen-year-old daughter Summer and her best friend Haley disappear only to turn up in a local park. Haley is dead, and Summer is unconscious and clinging to life after being severely beaten.

Bill is muddling through life with a dead end job just trying to raise a daughter after his wife died tragically. The two have been depressed as they quietly mark the passage of time. There have been a few instances of curfew breaking, but Summer is a good girl and Bill is doing the best he can. As the police question Bill, he begins to question himself and her friends. He seeks answers and grows frustrated at the police. While he keeps vigil over Summer's bedside, it is his sister Paige who points out something that leads to a shocking discovery. It isn't Summer in the hospital bed but Haley. What happens next takes Bill on an emotional rollercoaster that certainly would have left me reeling. As questions surface and folks come forward a dirty secret from the girl's school is revealed, but other darker secrets are yet to be discovered.

Bell did an excellent job with red herrings, flashbacks, and suspects as we held out hope that Summer might be found alive. While I won't reveal details to deter your enjoyment, I was a bit disappointed in how quickly I pieced things together. I did so long before Bill and the police. Maybe it is because I've read a few of Bell's book and have come to expect a particular formula from him. However,  the tale felt more like a made for television movie. The thread involving Summer was the strongest, but the additionals threads seemed a little over the top.  On a positive note, I did picture Bill Price with the voice of Will Patton, and while not loveable I couldn't blame for his actions.

BRING HER HOME was a well paced and enjoyable read. Bell tied all of the threads together for a page-turning mystery thriller, but sadly it was not a personal favorite.

My biggest problem with this book? The main character is a massive jerk. It's really hard to care whether he finds his daughter or not when he's someone I dislike. The book is fairly predictable if you read a number of thrillers, and then the ending is just so... blah. Didn't really enjoy any of the characters, but it was an easy read. It has a lot of twists but I didn't feel like the ending tied up the threads very neatly and what seemed to be interconnected the whole book was just left hanging in the wind. A lot of problems and not a lot of pay off.

I have been a fan of this author since his debut, and have subsequently read/purchased all his novels to date. David Bell is a fantastic suspense/thriller writer that never fails to keep me on the edge of my seat.
This books as usual is full of tons of red herrings and plot twists that I did not see coming. Just as you think you have it all figured out, he throws a twist at you!
This is what suspense novels are all about.
He has the ability to pull at your heartstrings, with tense topics and action. I felt like I was the main character, Bill, and experiencing the emotional turmoil that he went through........
I do not want to give away too much of the story with discussing my feelings on the plotline.
Excellent, suspenseful and kept me guessing until the very end/
Thank you netgalley!

Bill Price and his teenage daughter, Summer, are still trying to cope with the sudden loss of their wife and mother, Julia, who fell to her death about a year and a half earlier. Not wanting to alienate Summer as she continues to grieve, Bill gives her a bit more rein than usual - not forcing the issue if she stays out a bit later or sulks around the house. That leeway comes into serious question, though, when Summer and her best friend Haley go missing.

Days later, they're found in a city park; Haley is dead, and Summer has been beaten to an unrecognizable pulp but is still clinging to life. In the hospital ICU, she begins the slow process of healing - her father and his sister, Paige, by her side almost every minute. Once in a while, she tries to speak - and the word she utters seems to be "no." She also knocks the stuffed animal Bill brought to comfort her - the one she refuses to sleep without at home - on the floor every time he places it in the bed with her. What, Bill wonders, is up with that?

Bill also questions the efforts of the local police, who he's convinced aren't doing enough to find out who did this to his precious daughter. For solace, he turns to Paige and his ever-so-slick friend and next-door neighbor, Adam. But mostly, he rants, yells, cajoles and berates the lead police detective on the case (that is, when he's not running off to badger someone he suspects is the culprit). Each time he gets himself in trouble for sticking his nose into police business, he apologizes - and then turns around and does it again when a new suspect (to his mind) turns up.

As the investigation continues, new information is unearthed on almost every page (clearly not fast enough for Bill, but it seemed plenty fast for me). Much of it sheds new light on Summer, leading Bill to reflect on how much he and his late wife really knew their precious daughter.

Especially given that at least one major twist happens near the beginning, that's about all I can say without giving away too much. The story is interesting and straightforward (the chapters don't shift back and forth among characters and/or time period, thank you very much), the action moves along quickly and the loose ends are pretty well tied up in the end - making for a very enjoyable experience overall. Many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

I'm impressed with the storyline , it had me guessing till the bitter end. I'm on board for the next novel by this author .... Well done

Posted on: https://readingbetweenthepagesblog.wordpress.com/
Date Posted: 5/24/2017

The book opens with Bill arriving at the hospital. He has gotten word that his daughter, Summer, has been found and is in critical condition. He also finds out her best friend Haley, who Summer was with the day she went missing, did not survive her injuries. The two girls, one beaten to death, the other beaten beyond recognition!

From the first chapter this book grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Bill is a man on the edge. He has a very bad temper, is high strung, and is an extremely intense person. I could literally feel his tension, anger, and urgency to find out who did this to his daughter. He’s a single dad raising a teenage daughter. He’s doing the best he can, but realizes he doesn’t really know what’s going on with his daughter as much as he thought he did.

This story goes much deeper than “what happened to Summer.” Bill’s sister, Paige, comes to town as soon as she learns Summer has been found. We learn that Bill had a very bad temper even as a kid, and his relationship with Paige, on some level, is strained. Bill’s wife Julia passed away just a year-and-a-half earlier and when Summer turns up so badly injured those emotional wounds are reopened. There is lots of healing to do, but nothing can be fixed until the person, or persons, who hurt his daughter are found.

This was a fun story with a couple of unexpected twists. This is my first book by David Bell and I was impressed how he was able keep his cards hidden as well as he did for most of the book. I couldn’t truly piece it all together until the end.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley, and David Bell for an opportunity to read and give my honest opinion about this book.