Standing Still: A Novel [Hardcover]

Kelly Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Journalist and suburban mom Claire Cooper suffers from panic disorder. Most of her anxieties seem irrational, nothing that can't be fixed with the help of some Xanax. But late one stormy summer night, when her husband, Sam, is away on one of his frequent business trips, Claire's fears come to life. She discovers an intruder has broken into her young daughter's bedroom. She watches helplessly as he picks up her sleeping child from her bed. Desperate to protect her family, Claire puts herself in the line of fire and utters the plea that will undo her: "Take me instead."

As she drives away in the kidnapper's car, Claire fears for her children, but not for herself. And she can't help noticing the reversal in her marriage -- for the first time in ten years, Sam will not know where she is.

For the next week, Claire is tied to a bed in a strange motel room, the intruder her only com-panion. She is forced to lie still and contemplate the reasons for this assault on her family. Is this just a random crime, or something more sinister? Has the shadowy past that she tried so hard to leave behind finally caught up with her? Day after day, she goes deeper into herself, reevaluating her marriage and her role as a mother, and unburying the source of her crippling anxiety. In seven days she will step out to the very brink of her soul -- perhaps never to return.

A riveting debut novel that will appeal to fans of Sue Miller and Janet Fitch, Standing Still is a powerful exploration of the darker side of mother-hood and marriage.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. What mother wouldn't sacrifice herself for her child? In Simmons's electrifying debut, the answer is delivered through the harrowing ordeal of a mother held for ransom by an anonymous kidnapper. A former globetrotting journalist now working for a Midwest TV station, Claire has a comfortable life with her husband, Sam, a successful co-owner of a PR/marketing firm, and their three young daughters, but she's unhappy with Sam and struggles with a secret past. On one of the frequent nights Sam isn't home, an intruder crashes through the skylight of the couple's newly renovated house. The man planned to kidnap their oldest girl, but Claire persuades him to take her instead. An intense bond develops between Claire and her abductor, a widower mourning the loss of his wife, during the eerie seven-day odyssey that follows. As Claire waits for the ransom to be paid, she faces some hard truths about the choices everyone makes that sometimes require lies to endure. The perfect read for a stormy night, Simmons's suspenseful tale contains nary a wasted word. (Feb.)
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Review

“An electrifying debut. The perfect read for a stormy night, Simmons's suspenseful tale contains nary a wasted word.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Simmons's debut kicks off with an intriguing premise. The prose is concise, resonant, vibrant—more thoughtfully crafted than is typical in genre thrillers—and worth savoring.”—Romantic Times (four stars)

“Midnight Run with a female Charles Grodin…invigorating prose beefs up a conventional crime story.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Standing Still has a rare quality for a thriller. It's subtle, no less scary than it should be, but almost gentle where it needs to be.” —New York Daily News --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; 1 edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743289722
• ISBN-13: 978-0743289726
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,672,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "If I went with my gut, I'd never leave the house.", February 17, 2008

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Standing Still: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Standing Still," by Kelly Simmons, is the story of a woman who is depressed and anxious in spite of the fact she lives in a lovely home and has three adorable daughters. Forty-year old Claire Cooper worshipped her father when she was a little girl; he was "a hero who made every other man look small, ruinous." Claire resents her husband, Sam, who is often away on business, and she suffers from recurring panic attacks that persist in spite of medication and therapy. Her worst fears come true when, one stormy night, an intruder breaks into her home and threatens to kidnap her six-year-old daughter. She begs him to take her instead, and he complies. What follows is a most unusual abduction. Claire's captor, who is never named, turns out to be a compassionate person who has a good reason for everything he does.

As is so often the case in today's fiction, the chapters that take place in the present alternate with italicized flashbacks in which we learn something of Claire's past. She was a promiscuous woman who went from one lover to another based on superficial attraction ("my friends called me the queen of walking away"); she is hiding a horrifying secret that she prays will never come to light; she abhors her husband's shallowness, penny-pinching, and all too frequent absences. As Claire gets to know her kidnapper, she finds out that he is a man on a mission, and that he bears her no personal ill will. They gradually bond, in a way that often happens in situations of this kind, and their fates become inextricably intertwined.

Kelly Simmons has a clear, fast-paced, and conversational writing style; she injects a touch of occasional humor to offset the novel's dour theme. "Standing Still" is a psychological study of a dysfunctional marriage, and of a woman who is uncomfortable in her own skin. Because of her emotional problems, she is incapable of relaxing and enjoying her work as a journalist or her role as a wife and mother. During her week-long ordeal, Claire is forced to reexamine the past and decide what she has that is worth fighting for. The plot is a bit contrived and simplistic, and does not bear close scrutiny. The book's value lies in its sensitive analysis of Claire's complex personality and its engrossing account of her gradual transformation from frightened victim to a more realistic grown-up, who is able to live with life's uncertainties and imperfections.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Food for Thought Book Club - Monterey, California, February 21, 2008

By 

Mary D. Dowson (Monterey, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Standing Still: A Novel (Hardcover)

Our book group chose "Standing Still" for our February selection. We want more Kelly Simmons! Simmons had us from the first sentence and her skillful use of pace kept us engaged all the way through to the uncompromising ending. The plot was unpredictible and intricately woven. We couldn't put it down and savored each well crafted - but not over written - chapter. Our consensus is that it will make a great movie that we'd each love to see.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read Standing Still before the days grow long. It's too good to wait., February 5, 2008

By 

Caroline Debrot "Amateur Reader" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Standing Still: A Novel (Hardcover)

Standing Still makes the manageable world you know melt away as the world of Claire's worst nightmares takes hold. In the opening chapter, she is a patchwork of awkward contrasts, bitten and defensive but maternal, sensual and constrained, clever and irrational. At first guardedly intrigued by how brittle and complex Claire is, you will soon become sympathetic to her. You will identify with her dark desire and the terrible intimacy she shares with her kidnapper, as much as you will feel her terror in your guts.

Standing Still leaves you wondering. Claire is by far the best-developed character and yet her husband and her kidnapper are fascinating shadows of real people whose souls you never see. Despite Sam's memorable hair, I think I never saw his face, never looked into his eyes. And her kidnapper is even more enigmatic. One wonders, does her perpetual panic force Claire to know herself so well that she can't really know anyone else?

You'll read this and want more from this author.