Enjoyed this one. I was kept guessing until the end. Just when I thought I had it figured out the author would muddy the water and I was no longer certain. The story is told using past and present chapters with a "true crime " novel inside the novel. This was an interesting concept for me. It worked a lot better than I thought it would. I would recommend it. ( )

This read very much as a straight suspense/mystery novel, with maybe a touch of thriller, as well. As usual with McMahon, the perspective on the mother-daughter relationship in this book is different than those in any of the other McMahon books I have read so far, and the relationship itself is well drawn and deftly explored.

Once again, I was struck by McMahon's skill at using concrete details to render vivid characters and settings that feel three dimensional and real. This book, unlike the rest of those I have read so far by McMahon, was set not in Vermont but in small town Connecticut, and McMahon made the town feel so real and so vivid that by the end, I felt like I had actually been there myself.

The use of the inter-cutting of the two time lines to control the story's tension and pacing was masterfully done, and works well for this type of story. The prose itself was well written, fading into the background as I was immersed in the story.

I found the resolution of the murder mystery satisfying, but the resolution of some of the other plot threads left me somewhat less satisfied.

The subplot around Tara and the ouiji board was left dangling, in my opinion, and felt to me almost like a relic of an earlier draft where there was a supernatural element. I also felt that the resolution of the interpersonal conflicts was a little too easy, and the ending was a little too pat.

All in all, [The One I Left Behind] is a good story with a few problems which, along with the fact that this particular story just didn't grab me as much as some of McMahon's others have, kept it from reaching that full four stars. ( )

I have pretty much love everything Jennifer McMahon has written. This was no different. The story grabs you right from the beginning and never really lets you go. I also really enjoy how her stories seem to always be just a bit different than anything else you read. I can’t say the ending was a complete surprise, but I was left guessing pretty much until the end and it was a quite an unexpected turn. ( )

Interesting first half of book, which sets out the mystery. I really did not like the ending and found the characters reactions to some terrible events really flat and not believable. Examples: the trauma of having your mom kidnapped and the scenes around that. The horror of losing your hand. Overall I would say a middling 2.5. ( )

Mystery novel about a serial killer that was never caught. Known for leaving the severed right hand on the doorstep of the police department "Neptune" has never been caught. His fourth victim's hand was delivered to the police but the body never found. Now Vera Dufrane, Neptune's last victim has been discovered alive after 20 years- her daughter's emotions running deep, runs to her mother's side to get the answers she desperately seeks. Quick read, keeps you guessing until the end. ( )