All The Way Home [Paperback]

Wendy Corsi Staub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Lake Charlotte and a quiet little town in upstate New York - the perfect place to raise a family. Or is it? People still talk about that summer ten years ago when four teenage girls mysteriously disappeared. No one remembers that summer more vividly than Rory Connelly. Her older sister Carleen vanished from her bed in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. Now, ten years later, Rory is returning to a family that is falling apart...and to a fear she knows all too well. Then, on the anniversary of the very first disappearance, another teenage girl vanishes. Just like Carleen. Once again, Lake Charlotte is gripped in fear, and for Rory it's the past nightmare revisited. Only this time, her own life is in jeopardy...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Survivors of a long-ago crime in upstate New York relive the terror when teenage girls start disappearing once again in this suspense novel from the prolific Staub (Fade to Black). After Rory Connolly's father dies, she goes home to Lake Charlotte, N.Y., to care for her rebellious 13-year-old sister, Molly, and their disturbed mother. But Rory can't shake her memories of the four girls who vanished 10 years agoAamong them her older sister, Carleen, and her best friend and next-door neighbor, Emily Anghardt. Rory calls in her mom's old friend Sister Theodosia, but the dour, aged nun only casts more gloom. Molly proves to be an obstreperous handful who provokes Rory into revealing the secret surrounding Molly's birth. No wonder Rory leaps at the attentions of handsome Barrett Maitland, who may or may not be a crime writer doing research. The Anghardt house's current occupant, Michelle Randall, is about to give birth, and Molly babysits for Michelle's toddler, Ozzie, fearing every creak and thump from Ozzie's room. Crisis hits when Molly's best friend, Rebecca, disappears on the anniversary of Carleen's abduction, and the horrified townspeople direct renewed attention to Michelle's house. Staub's scary plot expertly mixes teen and adult perspectives and themes, but too often buries the action under passages of extended exposition that dull the tension and slow the pace of the narrative. The characters are well drawn, however, and the atmosphere is suitably gothic. Staub keeps readers guessing through a series of believable red herrings and clues. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

One long-ago summer, four girls mysteriously disappeared in the upstate New York town of Lake Charlotte and were never heard from again. Among them were Rory Connolly's older sister, Carleen, who may have had her own reasons for fading from sight, and Rory's best friend and next-door neighbor, Emily Anghardt. Rory's mother, Maura, dropped into deep depression; a year later, her husband dropped dead of a brain aneurysm. Maura skipped her meds and wavered on the brink of insanity while Rory's younger brother, Kevin, took over the household. Rory went off to college at Berkeley, graduated, traipsed about the country, now is being called home by Kevin. He's just graduated from college; Rory must care for Maura and their independent young teenage sister, Molly, while Kevin goes backpacking across Europe with his new girlfriend. Not surprisingly, the old fears Rory has buried arise, for it was ten years ago this week that the first girl disappearedand of the four girls who vanished, not one body was ever found. When a new teenage girl vanishes, all Rory's nightmares erupt. Heavily plotted from page one, Staubs second builds suspense more slowly than her feverish but unpromising Fade to Black (1998). The resolution here is more focused and believable, although stock characters and dialogue prevail throughout. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420100386
• ISBN-13: 978-1420100389
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an award winning, New York Times bestselling suspense novelist of more than 70 novels. All of my adult thrillers and in print backlist are available on Amazon and many are e-books as well. Check out my author website at www.WendyCorsiStaub.com, my reader community site at www.WendyCorsiStaubCommunity.com, and my author page at www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-Corsi-Staub/43054289209. I'm also a bestselling novelist with the chick lit and romantic comedy I write under the pseudonym "Wendy Markham."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So good it's scary!, July 5, 2001

By 

Katt - See all my reviews

This review is from: All The Way Home (Paperback)

Welcome to Lake Charlotte, a sleepy little town in upstate NY. It's been 10 years since 4 girls mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Rory Connelly, (who's sister Carleen is among the missing) returns home to deal with an aging mother and troubled younger sister. If that weren't enough to deal with, on the 10 year anniversary of the crimes, another girl disappears!

Rory soon realizes history is starting to repeat itself and she doesn't know who to trust. This book is truly one of the best suspense books I've ever read, everyone in this book looks guilty! When the real killer is revealed you will be SHOCKED!

I also loved the upstate NY setting, since I grew up around that area. Wendy even mentions my hometown of Kingston, NY in this book!

Wendy Corsi Staub is now on the top of my "must read list". I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good mystery.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Un-Put-Downable!, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: All The Way Home (Hardcover)

I have been reading Wendy Corsi Staub's books for a few years now, and this one is my favorite so far. The characters are really well drawn. They are realistic in the sense that they aren't perfect, but you can understand why they have made the mistakes they have. There is a creepy aura about the setting, and the suspense never lets up from the very first page. Every time I thought I had it figured out, there was another twist, leading up to a real shocker at the end when the stalker's identity is revealed. I would highly recommend this for anyone who likes a real page-turner along the lines of Mary Higgins Clark or Patricia MacDonald.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the Way Home, July 18, 2003

By 

Trena L. Coker "trenalynn" (Wylie,TX United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All The Way Home (Paperback)

This was a very Gripping Suspense Thriller. I could not put it down. After reading this, I purchased all of the Wendy Corsi Staub books I could find.