Touch & Go

“Pain has a flavor” muses Libby Denbe in the opening of Touch & Go.

Pain also harbors secrets in the Denbe family. Libby and Justin have a life that’s envious on the outside: wealth, success, a beautiful family. That all goes awry when an evening out to dinner between the two ends with the couple returning home to a dark house and the buzz of a taser. Libby watches her husband attacked by a mysterious man, and hears the cries of her daughter Ashlyn as two other men subdue the child.
The family is then kidnapped, nothing of material value removed from their home, and they vanish in the middle of the night.

Tessa Leoni is called in to investigate. Tessa also harbors her own secrets, but tries not to let her past hinder her attempts to locate the missing family safely. Working with a mixed group of law enforcement officers, Tessa attempts to dig into the family’s life to understand why such a bizarre crime would happen.

The book alternates between the family’s ordeal and the attempts to find them.

The family is taken to an empty jail, ironically built by Justin Denbe’s construction company. There they begin to unravel, the secrets of each family member spilling out as they become more frazzled and unsure of what will happen to them. In such an intense situation, the family first fight each other,as their tension and uncertainty build. But they use the openness to band together in an attempt to find a way to free themselves of their captors.

Meanwhile, secrets are spilling out as Tessa works to find out why this would happen. Justin was unfaithful to his wife, Libby has tried to numb her unhappiness with prescription pills, and Ashlyn has her own issues.

This is a book that will have you guessing until the end, rooting for the family to work together and for law enforcement to find them. You’ll also be a bit more conscious about walking into dark houses!

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“This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.”