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Summary
Summary
''Norton has given us living, breathing characters that we know and understand . . . and who inhabit our imaginations after we've finished this book." --Jeffery Deaver
In many ways, Reeve LeClaire looks like a typical twenty-two year old girl. She's finally landed her own apartment, she waitresses to pay the bills, and she wishes she wasn't so nervous around new people. She thinks of herself as agile, not skittish. As serious, not grim. But Reeve is anything but normal.
Ten years ago, she was kidnapped and held captive. After a lucky escape, she's spent the last six years trying to rebuild her life, a recovery thanks in large part to her indispensable therapist Dr. Ezra Lerner. But when he asks her to help another girl rescued from a similar situation, Reeve realizes she may not simply need to mentor this young victim--she may be the only one who can protect her from a cunning predator who is still out there, watching every move.
From the author of the #1 non-fiction bestseller Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box comes a novel that draws you into a chilling and engrossing world. With masterful plot twists and shifting points of view that make it as irresistible as Gone Girl, Carla Norton's The Edge of Normal is a stunning debut thriller.
Author Notes
CARLA NORTONis the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Perfect Victim, which the FBI put on their Behavioral Sciences Unit reading list. She served as the special sections editor for the San Jose Mercury News and has written for numerous publications. She has an MFA from Goddard College and has twice served as a judge for the Edgar Awards. The Edge of Normal, which won a Royal Palm Literary Award for best unpublished mystery, is her debut novel. She lives in California and Florida.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
True crime writer Norton (Perfect Victim) makes her first foray into fiction with a compelling-and timely-story about a woman kidnapped when she was 12 and held for four years. Now 22 and living in San Francisco, Reeve LeClaire depends on strict routines and sessions with compassionate therapist Ezra Lerner, an authority on "captivity syndrome." Now Dr. Lerner needs Reeve's help in treating Tilly Cavanaugh, a 13-year-old found a year after her kidnapping in Jefferson City, Calif. Reeve, a self-educated expert on longtime captivity, knows exactly how Tilly feels. But Reeve's kidnapper was caught. Tilly's abductor is not only still at large but also connected to the Jefferson City police. Norton skillfully keeps the suspense taut with myriad surprises while giving a tender look at victims whose ordeals are rehashed by lawyers, the media, and pop psychologists. Reeve's realistic maturation into a woman who refuses to remain a victim adds to the intriguing story. 100,000-copy first printing. Agent, Liza Dawson, Liza Dawson Associates. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A victim turns vigilante in a cat-and-mouse tale of a child predator and his former prey. Once known as Regina, Reeve LeClaire changed her name and her life when she was rescued from a man who abducted her and robbed her of her childhood years before. Though the press baptized her "Edgy Reggie" because of her cantankerous attitude, Reeve's been keeping a low profile lately, opting out of most worldly interactions. When her longtime therapist and child abduction specialist Dr. Ezra Lerner approaches her about helping recently rescued abductee Tilly Cavanaugh readjust to her family and return to something like normal life, Reeve agrees reluctantly, making the trek from San Francisco to Jefferson City to be with the Cavanaughs. Tilly bonds with Reeve, treating her like a sister in sorrow and disclosing details about her captor that she's been afraid to tell the police. Though she's spent most of her life avoiding involvement with others, Reeve's vigilante instincts are piqued, and she finds herself intent on identifying the man who attacked and imprisoned the young Tilly. Norton alternates between Reeve's search for the child predator and the point of view of the guilty party, who's planned for the inevitable investigation miles ahead of any police progress. Reeve must understand the logic of a sick mind in order to stop a coverup in its tracks. Norton (Perfect Victim, 1988) skillfully develops her tricky subject, gradually shifting from an emphasis on its tabloid aspects to a close identification with the victim/heroine in a story of justice served by the one who deserves it most.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* True-crime author Norton (Disturbed Ground, 1994) delivers an impressive mystery debut with a subject that leaps from the headlines. Reeve LeClaire escapes her captor after three years of unspeakable torture and abuse. Ten years later she is living independently and working as a waitress while putting her life back together and dealing with PTSD under the care of her therapist, Dr. Ezra Lerner. A sensational news story about the rescue of another young girl who endured a similar ordeal threatens to shatter her fragile grip on daily life. When Dr. Lerner asks her to speak with the new victim, Tilly Cavanaugh, and her family, she is not sure that she can cope with it. Reminded by Lerner that another victim reached out to aid her, Reeve decides to help, meets Tilly, and discovers that she will need to be more than a simple mentor, as the predator who took her is still out there watching. Does Reeve have the strength and skill to help Tilly survive? Norton has created a page-turner with well-developed characters, a truly horrible villain, and the psychological depth of Jonathan Kellerman at his best.--Bibel, Barbara Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Regina LeClaire finally settles into a routine life after surviving four teenage years with a sadistic abductor, followed by six years of therapy. To reinvent herself and maintain her anonymity, she alters her looks and changes her first name to Reeve. Her calm existence disappears when a young girl named Tilly Cavanaugh is freed from a similar captivity and the media is again bombarded with stories of Reeve's abduction. The connection between the two girls takes a personal turn when Reeve is asked to serve as Tilly's mentor while she recuperates from her ordeal. As their friendship develops, Tilly discloses secrets that she has not shared with her parents or law enforcement. Armed with secret evidence she has promised not to divulge, Reeve becomes immersed in the case. She embarks on a personal quest to identify and locate the merciless madman who tortured Tilly and may also be linked to two unsolved kidnappings. VERDICT This debut thriller by the best-selling author of Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box features a suspenseful story line that realistically mirrors recent news headlines of captivity and sadism. Winner of a Royal Palm Literary Award for best unpublished mystery, this nail-bitingly delicious tale will be a treat for psychological thriller fans. [See Prepub Alert, 3/11/13; other forthcoming titles that deal with this same theme of captivity includes Koethi Zan's The Never List and James Sallis's Others of My Kind.-Ed.]-Mary Todd Chesnut, -Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.