(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The booming North Dakota oil business is spawning “man camps,” shantytowns full of men hired to work on the rigs, in towns without enough housing to accommodate them. In such twilight spaces, it’s easy for a person to vanish. And when two young men in their first year on the job disappear without a trace, only their mothers believe there’s hope of finding them. Despite reassurances that the police are on the case, the two women think the oil company is covering up the disappearances—and maybe something more.
Colleen, used to her decorous life in a wealthy Massachusetts suburb, is determined to find her son. And hard-bitten Shay, from the wrong side of the California tracks, is the only person in town even willing to deal with her—because she’s on the same mission. Overtaxed by worry, exhaustion, and fear, these two unlikely partners question each other’s methods and motivations, but must work together against the town of strangers if they want any chance of finding their lost boys. But what they uncover could destroy them both...

I remember reading her book, Gardens of Stone, and thinking at the end of it just how much I enjoyed connecting with the main characters. There was something about the way they were written that held me in the story and, if they weren't as well crafted, the story would have been a bit of a bust.

I think the same is true here too.

What we have here is a typical mystery - two young men disappear without a trace from the shantytown where they live while working on an oil rig. The company doesn't seem to want to help - in fact, they seem to be covering something up, the police are a little overwhelmed and indifferent to the missing persons, and the town full of strangers all seem like they have something to hide. All pretty run of the mill stuff...

But the characters of Colleen and Shay, the mothers of the two missing men, are the absolute highlight of this book for me. While there was a bit of cliché involved in their creation (both come from different sides of the tracks, if you get my meaning), they way the author blended them together, forced them to work together, to find their kids, was just about perfect for me. Ultimately, this is a story about how far a mother will go for her child, but it is also a story of two women who must work together, despite their differences, to achieve their aim. And that goes through some pretty wild moments - there is a scene at the landlord's trailor that will live with me for a long time!

I can quite happily recommend this story based solely on Colleen and Shay - they make this book a joy to read.


Paul
ARH