I read a lot of mystery and thriller books (obviously!) so, when I come across one that impresses me, I feel like shouting from the rooftops. Bring Her Home, by David Bell, was one of those books that made me want to shout. Fast paced and entertaining, I found myself completely invested to our protagonist and his struggles. 

The novel opens with Bill, a widower, facing every father’s worst nightmare. His fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer is missing (along with her best friend, Haley). Days later, the girls are found in the park. Haley is dead on the scene and Summer is badly beaten. Bill is left begging his daughter to fight for her life but also begins to wonder if he knows his daughter at all. As Bill searches for the truth, he discovers more than what he thought. 

Instead of going for the gusto, Bell opens subtly and slowly draws his reader in. I felt instantly intrigued. From the first pages, Bell does a superb job at setting up lots of questions for the reader to continuously ask. I really loved this; when I read, I love to be active in my thought process trying to figure out the plot and where the author plans on going. 

One of the other things I enjoyed was the plethora of twists in the middle of the novel. Especially since I am completely tired of the big, shocking, one moment twists that so many thrillers have these days. I felt like this made the story even more eerie and ominous because it felt so real; this truly could have been a story that could happen to anyone. 

As for characterization, I felt like Bill was relatable and the story felt very real; I really appreciated that! 

I was able to guess pretty early on parts of the resolution of the novel but Bell did bring in some complex details that I would never have guessed that amped up the ending for me. 

Overall, I feel like fans of the “feels real” thriller will enjoy this novel; think authors like Mary Kubica. I absolutely relished in this one. 4/5 stars from me!

This novel made me feel a full gamut of emotions: fear, hope, sadness, grief, love and happiness.  I connected with it and really enjoyed the story.

Bill's wife dies tragically, in an accident falling off a ladder. A year and a half later, his daughter and her best friend are found beaten - his daughter practically comatose, her friend, dead - both beaten beyond recognition. As he digs further to try and catch whoever put his daughter in such a predicament, he learns more than he ever wanted to know.

This is my second Bell book and I just LOVE his writing style. While I usually like faster paced books, I find myself FLYING through his pages because he is SO good at keeping your interest even with a slower, suspense building format. How does he do this? His impeccable way of building the characters - you REALLY get inside the head of the main character, in this case, Bill. You get maddened when he gets maddened, you cry inside when his grief gets to be too much, you're basically a ball of emotion on a dark roller coaster, being guided to who knows where. 

If you read as many thriller books as I do, the big reveal can be tough and can be figured out pretty readily because really, just how many different scenarios can someone bring about that's original? David Bell doesn't do this, however, and it's quite refreshing. There are two reveals just within the first half of the book... which hooks you in because you're thinking just what ELSE will surprise me. Sometimes it's about the journey rather than the conclusion, no?

Basically, he is now a definitely auto buy author for me. Give me more Bell! Even for those of you who like the faster plot, I think you should do yourself a favor and get into these if you haven't had a tasting of his work yet.

Bill Price is a first and foremost a father who is worried about his daughter. As a parent, I get that. Nonetheless, his character was hard to relate to at times. He is quick to make assumptions about people and events, without evidence and without taking time to consider all the possibilities. This leads him to act rashly, interfering at times with the police investigation. I really liked his sister, Paige, who comes to stay with him and offer moral support. She has good instincts, she is sensible, and helps balance out his somewhat erratic behavior.
The plot is intricate, with an abundance  twists and turns.  Although some of the twists were unexpected, I found a few to be quite predictable.  Some aspects of the story lacked credibility, nonetheless, the novel was definitely intriguing enough to hold my attention to the very end.  Like Bill, I had to know what had happened to Summer.

Great book! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

Publishing this review a day after the actual novel's publication date, I asked for this book from Netgalley with all my positve vibes. But this isn't the thriller that I was waiting for, neither the one I was excpeting.

In a little city where nothing happens, two fifteen years old girls, Summer and Haley, disapper. Bill, Summer's father, is the protagonist of the case that since from the start it's presented as dark and sad. 
Since the death of his wife Julia, the relationship with Summer isn't great anymore, the bond between father and daughter ruined.
His hopes are near zero when two bodies are recovered. One girl is alive, the other is dead. But nothing looks like it should be.

When I review a thriller, usually I prefer to focus my attenttion onto the plot and the surprise. That's include the thrille, the mistery, the plot twist and so. I've never been able to connect emotinally with a thriller's protagonist/character, so I try my best to analizy them anyway without scoffing off or non taking them into consideration.
Bring Her Home didn't strike me.

The style is simple, the pages flow, the book can be read easily and fast, the reader will probably go on and on reading until the end. 
Yet something is missing.

As I wrote before, I'm not exactly the type who can fully empathize with thriller's protagonists, yet Bill is a father and his daughter is lost. His feeling should be strong, should be able to reach me anyway, but it didn't happen. I could understand his struggle and at the same time I felt really distant. For some details I could feel his way of think and act. Bill is a really impulsive man and his rush to find more clue that will lead him to Summer is totally undertendable, even if sometimes he doesn't act like a wise man.

What killed me off was the whole plot. When I read a thriller I want suspance. I don't want to guess the killer at half book. 
Basically, I guessed immediattly how the book was going to end - whit the minumum doubt of a sad or happy ending - and that was a total bummer. 
Novel's paragraphs and blurb didn't help the mystery to remain hidden. 

In total honesty, I don't feel to suggest to this book otherwise the reader searching for a light thriller to read during summertime without getting too much tangled inside a big and confusing mystery, and yet managing to enjoy a simple and pleasant prose.

Bill Price is in the middle of a parent’s worst nightmare.  His teenage daughter, Summer, is missing.  She’s been gone for several days with her best friend, Haley. No one has seen or heard from either girl. Then, Haley is found dead in the park. Summer has been beaten to a pulp and been left for dead. Bill stays by Summer’s side in the hospital, willing her to wake up.

It’s been less than two years since Bill’s wife’s death. During that time, he and his daughter have drifted apart.  He really has no clue what has been going on in her life.  He wonders what Summer could have been involved in.   When the police take too long in catching who did this, he takes matters into his own hands.

The storyline is one of those "ripped right out of a newspaper headline". The characters and plot are realistic - perhaps a bit too realistic for comfort. There were times I thought Bill’s interference with the police would hinder their investigation, but at the same time, I understood his frustration in not knowing what happened to his daughter. Or if she would live or die.

Talk about a page-turner, this novel was that and more. I could not stop reading late into the night. There were more twists and turns than I ever expected. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was completely wrong and totally shocked when I got to the last page.

It’s an extremely fast-paced book that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.  The chapters are short which makes it even easier to keep reading to the end. 

I have never read anything by this author before, but I certainly will from now on. I will check out his backlist too. I love discovering “new-to’me” authors.

Bill lost his wife less than two years ago, and now he fears he has lost his daughter, Summer, too. But when the police tell him Summer has been found after being missing for days, it seems too good to be true. As Bill sits by Summer's hospital bed, he has to wonder if he could be this fortunate to truly get his daughter back--and how well he really knows his own flesh and blood. What happened to Summer and her friend? And who exactly made them disappear?

This is a book full of twists and turns, which I always love! Just when you think you have everything figured out, Bell throws another curve ball at you. The mystery is definitely a suspenseful one that kept me guessing.


I found it hard to like the character of Bill. I suspect at least a part of this was the author's purpose, but I think I was supposed to end up liking him more than I did. I of course was rooting for him to be safely reunited with his daughter, but he had a lot of major character flaws that didn't really seem to be counterbalanced or resolved in any way.

I also was able to predict one of the twists almost entirely, which did take away a bit of the surprise.

While I prefer other writers' psychological suspense, I always enjoy Bell's books. He spins a good mystery. I'm just always left wanting a little bit more.

Ok, I have to say that readers are in for a real treat with this book. Mr. Bell brings a rich storyline with endearing and complex characters that will have you all in until the last page! 

From the first moment that I opened this book and started reading, I was hooked. I felt the pain of Bill as he tried to cope with the tragic accident to his daughter. Through the investigation, Bill learned that he really did not know anything about his daughter. They had really grown apart after the loss of his wife. I liked that the lead detective was on a first name bases with Bill. It made Detective Hawkins more relatable as he too experienced so many emotions through the whole ordeal. 

Another reason that I liked this book so much is because the author did not try to force me to go down one path knowing that there would be a twist. Therefore, it felt natural as the characters had their secrets revealed at the appropriate times in the story. Bring Her Home is a tour de force from start to end!

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. Suspenseful and full of mystery, it kept me captivated from start to finish. A story about two missing girls and a distraught father trying to find answers.

This book unravels itself slowly, picking up the pace enough to keep you intrigued and you just want to know!

4.5 Stars

David Bell is a master of twists and turns. Leading you down the garden path into what you expect, however, when you get there, everything is completely different.

This story deals with every parents nightmare. A gruesome crime that has everyone looking for answers. With truths and untruths at every turn, it’s hard to know who to believe and who to trust.

The author definitely has a way with pulling you directly into the story. With amazing ability to keep you reading long into the night, this book has those deadly short chapters that beg you to keep going. Then bang! One more twist, one more turn. You are at the mercy of the author.

David Bell has another winner in this book. With plenty of suspense and thrills, Bring Her Home by David Bell is captivating. If you have not experienced a book by him yet, you’re missing a great read. This one is a perfect place to start!

Bring Her Home by David Bell was my first read by this author and it was such a great read! Suspenseful and full of mystery, it kept me captivated from start to finish. A story about two missing girls and a distraught father trying to find answers. 

Bill Price recently lost his wife and now, less than two years later his daughter and her best friend are missing. Still grieving over losing his wife, Bill is despondent. What is Summer involved in? Does Bill really know his daughter? 

Told in Bill’s point of view, we get a very straightforward mystery. The story starts with Bill arriving at the hospital and attempting to grasp what is happening and why. He struggles to understand what could have happened to the girls while they were missing and who would hurt them this way. What follows is Bill’s search for answers. There is not really more to say, without giving away parts of the book, except to read and find out! 

Bring Her Home was full of twists and turns, characters that will grab you and family drama at every turn. It was a very compelling read and definitely left me with interest to read more of his work.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Each year I wait very impatiently for the new David Bell thriller. This year was no different and it was well worth the wait except I didn’t think so as I read Part One. Let me explain.

Two 15 year old girls disappear. Summer and Haley were just like sisters, they did everything together. Bill Price just thought his daughter Summer was pushing her limits by missing her curfew until the police call. The girls were found in a park. Haley is declared dead immediately but Summer is rushed to the hospital badly beaten in grave condition. Bill and his sister, Paige, remain by the bedside rubbing her arm and talking to her. Then Paige starts to wonder if the girl in the bed is really Summer at all. Something I thought very early in the story.

Then we get to Part Two and the classic David Bell twists start to evolve. Different suspects, different scenarios, and a father driven to find the truth. I am treading lightly here so as to not tell you anymore than what the synopsis of the book provides. When I reached Part Two of this book I could not put it down.

Having experienced the loss of a child albeit in a very different way, I felt Bill Price’s pain. It ripped right into my heart. This man wanted answers and he was going to do anything to get them. The police told him to let them do their job, he tried, but he couldn’t. I understood his passion, even when the outcome could be the worst thing he could imagine he couldn’t stop. As the story continues so do the twists and surprises and Bill never quits or backs down.

Bell knows how to tell a story with strong characters. His stories have many layers. There is drama from start to finish. The pacing is absolutely perfect and the way he writes pulls the reader deeper and deeper into the story. He also uses short chapters so even late at night the “I just read one more” overtakes you and before you know it you are finishing the story. Mr. Bell is responsible for my latest book hangover 🙂

Like everything else this man has written this is an excellent story, one that will stick with you beyond the final page. For suspense fans, this is a must read.

I am torn on my feelings for this book.  On one hand I kept reading until the very last line curious to see where it went but on the other hand? I either knew what was going to happen long before it did or I couldn’t believe what was happening.  One key twist in the story just seemed very unbelievable to me and I pretty much figured out the “who dunit” part a quarter of the way through the story.  
     Bring Her Home is told mostly through the eyes of Bill, Summer’s father.  Bill is, to me, a manic and completely unreliable narrator.  As for the rest of the cast of characters, they are fairly normal but some of the dynamics in the relationships between them are odd, forced or just plain unrealistic.
        So basically you are thinking; why did she keep reading? Well, I don’t know.  I guess even though I knew who the bad guy was I was just curious enough to want to know the details of how Mr. Bell would pull it all together.  I cannot say that I loved this one or even really liked it but I did finish it so that is saying something, right? 3/5 stars

Bring Her Home by David Bell is an intense thriller/mystery.  The short chapters mirror character Bill Price’s frenetic search for his daughter, Summer.  

“Wow” was the first word that came to mind when I finished Bring Her Home.  I haven’t finished a book in one sitting in a very long time.  Main character Bill Price tells the story of the disappearance of his daughter and her best friend, Haley.  His desperation made him seem like an unreliable narrator.  The story is fraught with anguish and desperation.  As a parent, I couldn’t help but get pulled into the stomach-clenching drama of a missing teenaged girl.  As a mystery lover, I relished each red herring and plot twist.

There are many red herrings and wild goose chases as details of Haley and Summer’s lives are slowly revealed.  Naturally, their parents are aghast at learning how little they knew of their teens’ daily lives. While one of my two main suspects ended up being the perpetrator, I thoroughly enjoyed deliberating over each possible suspect and the major reveals as the story reached its zenith.

I’ll not destroy a good read by giving away plot details. I will say I thoroughly enjoyed the story, pace and well-developed characters.  The details in the parent-child and teen-friend relationships were perfect.  Bring Her Home was my first book by David Bell, but it won’t be my last!  It’s a page-turning, heart-racing read.

4.75 - 5 STARS

When 15 year old Summer Price and best friend, Haley, mysteriously disappear, Bill Price is justifiably distraught. Having lost his wife just a year and a half earlier, the thought of losing his teenage daughter is beyond crippling. But when the girls’ badly beaten bodies are discovered in a nearby park a few days later, Bill holds on to hope that his daughter will awake and make a full recovery. However, uncovering the truth behind Summer and Haley’s brutal assault doesn’t prove easy. As the story progresses, the mystery slowly unravels, with numerous twists and turns along the way. Shocking revelations come to light, as the story leads the reader towards a satisfying (yet unsurprising) conclusion. 

“Bring Her Home” is the second book I’ve read by author David Bell, and I can honestly say that I’m rapidly becoming a huge fan. With complex, multi-faceted characters and an intriguing, captivating storyline, “Bring Her Home” hits all the right chords. From the strained father-daughter dynamic to the complicated relationship between Bill and his sister Paige, to the overriding mystery that underscores it all, “Bring Her Home” simply has it all. By far, it is one of my top suspense novels for this year.

This book takes you on quite the roller coaster of emotions! 

Two girls go missing and are found in the park - 1 dead and the other badly beaten.  The families are destroyed and Summer's father is out to make sure whoever did this to his daughter pays the price.

I'm trying to figure out what to write to not give away too much that would spoil the book!  

The father, Bill Price, definitely has some issues.  I don't know if they stem from losing his wife and now what has happened to his daughter Summer, or if there is more to what makes him tick.  He was a little annoying with wanting justice - while I understood how he felt, he also was not giving the police time to truly do their job. Many of the things that happened were mistakes that could happen to anyone.  The one upside to this whole tragic event is that it brought Bill and his sister closer together in the end (there are some rough patches!).

The book surprised me many times with the twists and turns.  I was shocked at a few incidents that happened and while I suspected some of who was involved, the revelations might just leave you dumb founded in the end.

The book does have a somewhat happy ending - as happy as it can be when tragedy occurs.

Bring Her Home by David Bell is a stand alone mystery about Bill Price and the disappearance of his daughter, Summer.

This was a story that kept me on the edge of my seat. There were mysteries within mysteries which I loved. It's a story that portrays some of the feelings people go through when a loved one goes missing. The reason I gave this a three star review is the fact that religion is brought up in the book which did absolutely nothing for the story, in my opinion. There were also discrepancies throughout the book, such as the wrong character's name being used, which will hopefully be caught in the final editing.

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a special blog tour to celebrate Bell’s newest release, if you missed it here’s my review of  The Forgotten Girl. I’m a huge fan of his novels and BHH is hands down my new favorite! It was shocking, compelling and ultimately a satisfying read. 

Bill is an average man, a father still grieving after the sudden loss of his wife when the unthinkable happens and his teenaged daughter, Summer goes missing. This was unique in that it begins after she was already missing for a few days and wasn’t told from the POV of a police officer, it’s told from Bill himself. Beyond that, I don’t want to discuss the plot because it was full of twists and turns that were shocking. 

This was straightforward storytelling with no alternating timelines or various points of view and I didn’t realize how much I missed books being told this way until I picked this up. It was really nice to read something told in a basic linear matter with no extraneous devices used. The pacing was really fast and the writing style was so fluid and polished, Bell is a truly gifted writer. 

I spoke of the twists earlier, but I want to point out again how blown away I was by the way they were executed. There was a subtlety to them and they were wholly believable. You know how oftentimes you have to suspend disbelief when you’re reading a thriller? There isn’t any of that here, scenarios are realistic and so are the characters Bell crafts. Bill broke my heart he was so raw and vulnerable, he was really relatable and I connected with him instantly. 

If you haven’t read a Bell novel before, start here. I think it’s his best work so far and it was such an engrossing tale, definitely going on my list of top reads of the year.