The Girl Who Wasn’t There

Fear, anger, tension, anxiety, depression, and pain are just some of the emotions you will experience along with Sidney and Penny O’Keefe as you enter their works, join them on the beach and learn the hidden secrets both are harboring that endangers their 11 year old daughter Chloe. You can feel the chill in the air even on this warm Lake Placid Beach as Chloe befriended another child was enjoying her day until the unthinkable happens.

Penny and Sidney decide they needed some alone time after being away from each other for 10 years. Sidney did 10 years for murdering a Chinese family, but he took the rap for the crime committed by two others that were killed by the police. Things heat up and they leave Chloe with her new friend and when they return, they are lives would no longer be the same.

Searching the beach and anywhere including their hotel room Penny and Sidney ran around in circles until they decided to contact the hotel detective and things get tense, dangerous and after questions are asked they are supposed to money with the chief of police and this interaction is chilling. Chief Walton wants Penny out of the way and the questions asked focus on Sidney’s prison life, his relationship with crime boss Mickey Rabuffo and the fact he might be behind the kidnapping of his daughter. But Sidney made a deal with the DA to give up the truth about the murders and things are even unethical as the Chief makes it clear he better not does about this crime or what was behind the deal. Whose side is he on and is he going to look for his daughter?

Things get more dangerous when Sidney spots someone holding his daughter, going after the person he gets knocked out accused of beating up someone else, riots and loud yelling from his room and the it all break loose as the detective, Giselle Fontaine comes after him and states he’s going to be arrested by the chief and then it gets hot, dangerous and bold. Penny takes aim at the detective with her own gun, the chief aims his at Penny as shots are fired but they get away and the chase is on, but the final reveal is shocking and devastating to Sidney. Lies and a huge betrayal plus his own legal counsel is not exactly on his side and the one person he thought he could trust threw him under the bus the minute he was released from prison. What exactly are they after that he is the prime target if three people and one man, he thought was dead?

Sidney is about to have a startling revelation and realize that those in front of him are not what they appear to be. Someone close to him betrays him and places his daughter in danger. Just how far will someone go in order to have enough money supposedly to give someone else a good life? Sidney survived a lot of torment in prison and the lawyer that helped get his release why did he do it? So many players and each one had so much to gain but Sidney would become the pawn in a game of chess that was more deadly than saying Checkmate you lose.

When Sidney needs a ride to find his daughter little does he know that he person called Gary has been tracking him and the surprise at the end of the ride and the harsh realizations that he will have to face might destroy him and send him back to prison for good. Revenge is not always so sweet but when the police are not on your side, the law fails you there is only one thing he can do and that’s take it into his own brand of vigilante justice and you won’t believe how it’s done.

When the hidden truths behind who kidnapped his daughter comes to light Sidney goes rogue takes on the opposition and the scenes created by author Vincent Zandri are Terri, heart-stopping and electrifying and so graphically depicted when you close your eyes you’ll relive them with Sidney. Just where is Chloe and when escaping their two captives and learning about a deception and betrayal who can he trust and what is the goal. Rubuffo has money hidden in his vault and Sidney or Doc as he is called has the key or the ability to unlock it. There are hidden players involved and the reasons behind why this plan was created and by whom you will not believe. As Chloe tries to communicate with her father hoping he will save her we learn that the young girl she was with at the beach is also a victim of these sick and sadistic killers. Greed, money, revenge, financial gain, deception and trust are just sone of what is at the heart of this psychological/ mystery thriller. As the final shots are fired and the lines are drawn Sidney could face prison for life if someone does not come to his aid. Who fully gets prosecuted  of the law?

Two parents at odds and yet it seems with the same goal to find Chloe, but one would soon have reason to reject the other as you hear conversations that will make your blood boil. Penny and Sidney or Doc as he’s called had a strained relationship and even though she seemed enamored by his presence and that he’s home at times you wondered what was real or what was for her own convenience. At times you empathize with both and at times you wonder how their thought processes really worked in such off the wall directions.

Who was part of this elaborate plan? Just how we are the pieces going to fit together and why was Sidney the unwitting pawn? The ending is extraordinary and the final scene surprising as the fate of two young girls hangs in the balance but will Sidney come out if this alive before the sirens blast again, the enemies take him down and law enforcement has to decide if he was responsible for what happened to The Girl Who Wasn’t There.

Fran Lewis: just reviews