Summary

The twists and turns of the storyline were completely unpredictable, keeping me guessing as I dove deeper into the book. Is Elizabeth really Charlotte? Is Gwen involved in the disappearance? Who is Peter? All of these questions and more get answered in a thrilling surprise ending. Kudos to the author for an intriguing roller coaster of a read.

4 STAR REVIEW: CALL ME ELIZABETH LARK by Melissa Colasanti

Book Review Melissa Colasanti TwitterAbout The Book

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

Your daughter went missing twenty years ago. Now, she’s finally back. You thought she had returned a few times in the past, and your husband tells you she’s not the one, but you feel it in your bones.

Now, what will you do to keep her home?

Twenty years ago, Myra Barkley’s daughter disappeared from the rocky beach across from the family inn, off the Oregon coast. Ever since, Myra has waited at the front desk for her child to come home. One rainy afternoon, the miracle happens–her missing daughter, now twenty-eight years old with a child of her own, walks in the door.

Elizabeth Lark is on the run with her son. She’s just killed her abusive husband and needs a place to hide. Against her better judgment, she heads to her hometown and stops at the Barkley Inn. When the innkeeper insists that Elizabeth is her long lost daughter, the opportunity for a new life, and more importantly, the safety of her child, is too much for Elizabeth to pass up. But she knows that she isn’t the Barkleys’s daughter, and the more deeply intertwined she becomes with the family, the harder it becomes to confess the truth.

Except the Barkley girl didn’t just disappear on her own. As the news spreads across the small town that the Barkley girl has returned, Elizabeth suddenly comes into the limelight in a dangerous way, and the culprit behind the disappearance those twenty years ago is back to finish the job.

Excerpt

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The Review

Charlotte Barkley was 8-years-old when she disappeared in the middle of the night from the beach under the less-than-watchful eyes of her older sister. The disappearance became a local tragedy as the years passed with no clues. In Call Me Elizabeth Lark, author Melissa Colasanti sets forth a chilling tale of suspense regarding the mysterious woman’s identity who shows up at the Barkleys’ inn with Charlotte’s necklace.

From the beginning, this story captured my attention. I could feel the pain the family had experienced after two decades with no news of their missing daughter. The author skillfully demonstrated how Charlotte’s loss impacted each family member, especially her older sister, and the guilt she carried.

Elizabeth Lark has spent the last 20 years being traumatized and isolated by her husband. Until she can find a safe haven for herself and her young son, she’s keeping her guard up. When she starts trying to unravel the threads of the past connecting her to Charlotte, old secrets soon come to the surface.

The twists and turns of the storyline were completely unpredictable, keeping me guessing as I dove deeper into the book. Is Elizabeth really Charlotte? Is Gwen involved in the disappearance? Who is Peter? All of these questions and more get answered in a thrilling surprise ending. Kudos to the author for an intriguing roller coaster of a read.

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About The AuthorMelissa ColasantiMelissa Colasanti is a mother and an author. She has a BFA in fiction from Boise State University. Her writing has appeared in Lithub, Memoir Magazine, The Coffin Bell Journal, and others. She is the Stephen R. Kustra scholar in creative writing for 2019 and was awarded the Glenn Balch Award for fiction in 2020.

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REVIEW AUTHOR

Amy Wilson
Amy Wilson
My name is Amy W., and I am a book addict. I will never forget the day I came home from junior high school to find my mom waiting for me with one of the Harlequin novels from my stash. As she was gearing up for the "you shouldn't be reading this" lecture, I told her the characters get married in the end. I'm just glad she didn't find the Bertrice Small book hidden in my closet. I have diverse reading tastes, evident by the wide array of genres on my Kindle. As I made the transition to an e-reader, I found myself worrying that something could happen to it. As a result, I am now the proud owner of four Kindles -- all different kinds, but plenty of back-ups! "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets high marks on my favorites list -- not for character development or dialogue (definitely not!), but because it blazed new ground for those of us who believe provocative fiction is more than just an explicit cover. Sylvia Day, Lexie Blake, and Kristin Hannah are some of my favorite authors. Speaking of diverse tastes, I also enjoy Dean Koontz, Iris Johansen, and J.A. Konrath. I’m always ready to discover new-to-me authors, especially when I toss in a palate cleanser that is much different than what I would normally read. Give me something with a well-defined storyline, add some suspense (or spice), and I am a happy reader. Give me a happily ever after, and I am downright giddy.

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The twists and turns of the storyline were completely unpredictable, keeping me guessing as I dove deeper into the book. Is Elizabeth really Charlotte? Is Gwen involved in the disappearance? Who is Peter? All of these questions and more get answered in a thrilling surprise ending. Kudos to the author for an intriguing roller coaster of a read.4 STAR REVIEW: CALL ME ELIZABETH LARK by Melissa Colasanti