Synopses & Reviews
Twenty-something drifter Miranda crashes her car late at night on a lonely highway and is picked up by a passing stranger who soon reveals himself to be more sinister than at first glance. No one knows Miranda is missing: her father died in a plane crash over Central America and her estranged mother, Anne, sought comfort in a New Age lifestyle in the Arizona desert.
When Anne reaches out to her daughter, no one has heard from Miranda for two months. All signs seem to point to Mirandas death, but she's actually living under an assumed name in a Virginia beach town and may not want to be found. Maybe George, her highway rescuer, means nothing by his unexpected appearances and is unconnected to rumors of a serial killer stalking young women. Maybe her mother will find her in time. Maybe not.
An edgy and engrossing page-turner, Last Seen Leaving explores the often ambiguous nature of danger and the dark secrets we keep in order to protect those we love.
Review
"A suspenseful, emotionally resonant story about a mother and her daughter caught in the mystery of her husband's disappearance....A keen, heartfelt thrill." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Her skillful portrayal of unresolved grief and shattered relationships lends sensitivity to this solidly crafted and compelling sophomore effort." Library Journal
Review
"[A] story about the fragility of relationships as well as the secrets we keep and the lies we tell ourselves to get us through the pain of love and loss." Booklist
Review
"Last Seen Leaving doesn't reach [the] depth or complexity [of Josie and Jack]. It's more like an episode of CSI or Without a Trace fast-paced and enjoyable, but not particularly artful or enduring." USA Today
Review
"[A] literary thriller that deepens rather than solves the most elusive mystery of all: the mystery of human nature....Braffet uses the plotting techniques of genre fiction to explore the difficulty of knowing the people who are closest to us." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Kelly Braffet convincingly depicts prickly Miranda's escape from her past....But Last Seen Leaving, this compelling tale of mother-daughter estrangement, nearly gets lost in a thrillerish overcoat bursting with CIA operatives and serial killers." Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis
Last Seen Leaving delivers delicious suspense, meticulous plotting, and keen eye for character in a story about a mother in search of her daughter, and a daughter in search of herself.
Synopsis
As she did in her darkly thrilling debut, Josie and Jack, Kelly Braffet again explores the often ambiguous nature of love and danger in a riveting novel of suspense. When twenty-something drifter Miranda Cassidy wrecks her car one night on the way home from a bar, she seizes the accident as an opportunity to reinvent her life. Hitching a ride with a mysterious stranger, she finds quick work and a fresh start hundreds of miles away in an oceanside vacation town. She doesnt look back, figuring no one is going to miss her. But when her mother finds no forwarding address, she senses something terrible has happened. The memory of the tragic disappearance of Mirandas father years before and the force of long-buried emotions drive her on a frantic quest to find her daughter, no matter what the cost.
Synopsis
As she did in her darkly thrilling debut, Josie and Jack, Kelly Braffet again explores the often ambiguous nature of love and danger in a riveting novel of suspense. When twenty-something drifter Miranda Cassidy wrecks her car one night on the way home from a bar, she seizes the accident as an opportunity to reinvent her life. Hitching a ride with a mysterious stranger, she finds quick work and a fresh start hundreds of miles away in an oceanside vacation town. She doesn't look back, figuring no one is going to miss her. But when her mother finds no forwarding address, she senses something terrible has happened. The memory of the tragic disappearance of Miranda's father years before and the force of long-buried emotions drive her on a frantic quest to find her daughter, no matter what the cost.
About the Author
Kelly Braffet's first novel, Josie and Jack, was published in 2005. It was praised as "wicked fun...a gothic tour of hell" (Los Angeles Times) and "a compelling study of love, hate, and psychopathic jealousy" (New York Post). Braffet was born in Long Beach, California, in 1976, and has lived in Arizona, rural Pennsylvania and Oxford, England. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University, and has taught novel writing at the Sackett Street Writing Workshop. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her fiancee, the tall and embarrassingly talented writer Owen King. They have three cats.