I hate to say that I enjoyed reading Catch the Sparrow considering that it's based on a true story - the murder of the author's stepsister. But I did enjoy it! As a Dateline watcher, this book was right up my alley.
In 1991, Stephanie goes missing. The police have a long list of suspects: a former boyfriend, a current boyfriend, even Stephanie's dad. But they just can't seem to get a lead, and Stephanie's disappearance becomes a cold case. In the meantime, Stephanie's dad marries Rachel's mom, and the legacy of her stepdad's daughter becomes a part of Rachel's life.
Years later, Rachel decides that she wants to uncover as much of the truth about Stephanie's disappearance as she can. So she goes back to the scene of the crime, interviewing everyone involved and reading all the documentation from 1991 to the present.
Does the case eventually get solved? Yes. But does it take way too long? Yes. And Rachel's book uncovers a system that allows bad cops to flourish and bad guys to roam free.
Sure, there are some GoodReads reviews for this book that are super negative, and I get where those readers are coming from. But while I was reading the book, I wasn't bothered at all by the author inserting her own life story into the narrative or the fact that the author never actually met her stepsister. I was engrossed in the story of what happened to Stephanie and how it impacted those left behind: her father, her friends, old boyfriends, and the detectives who never gave up on finding her.
Catch the Sparrow is published by Bloomsbury and is on bookstore shelves now. I received a free review copy.
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