TAKEN by Dee Henderson

Shannon Bliss is finally free after being abducted eleven years ago.  The first thing she does is find Matthew Dane, a retired Boston cop who's now a private investigator.  Her decision to look him up was based on a newspaper article about how he helped to find his daughter (who was once abducted) and how he helped her cope with the aftermath.  Although Shannon is now free, she must endure reliving many unpleasant memories while giving authorities the information they need to convict the Jacoby family, with whom she was forced to stay.  Matthew intends to be the buffer for her and he quickly surrounds himself with trusted friends and colleagues who will help make Shannon's transition a little easier.  Shannon trusts Matthew, especially with the journals she kept during those eleven years and Matthew knows, that though they're difficult for him to read, he must know what happened to her to understand how best to help her. As Matthew and Shannon work through each situation together, they find themselves drawn to each other and enjoying each others company, but they can never be more than friends, or can they?

This was a story I really did enjoy reading.  It wasn’t an edge-of-your-seat type story but it did compel me to keep reading and find out Shannon’s story.  Shannon was an interesting person and one I appreciated getting to know.  Her inner strength and unwavering faith was something I admired given all she had been through.  I really thought Matthew was a great guy.  Especially the way he handled Shannon and her whole situation, but also how he was with his daughter. He’s someone you would want in your corner.  The story starts out where Shannon and Matthew meet and from there the story of Shannon slowly unfolds.  They form a great friendship but I would have liked to see that more fully developed.  One character that was really intriguing to me was Flynn. You’ll know what I mean when you read the book. Although there was a conclusion, I found myself longing for an epilogue or just to have the story carried out a little further.  One thing that was nice was getting to catch up with the people you've come to know in Dee's most recent novels. I like books that are tied together yet not a series. Overall I thought it was a good story.

*This complimentary copy was provided by Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

For more information about this book or other books by Dee Henderson, I recommend you visit her website at http://www.deehenderson.com/