The Three Beths - Jeff Abbott

The Three Beths is Jeff Abbott's newest book.

Mariah Dunning's mother disappeared a year ago. Law enforcement is sure that her father has killed her, but has yet to prove it. One day while at the mall, Mariah is sure she sees her mother at the food court - and she redoubles her efforts to find her. And her search turns up another woman named Beth who has also disappeared. And going by the title, you know there's another.

The Three Beths is a busy book with many twists and turns throughout. Now, I appreciate a complicated plot, but I have to say that I found this busyness somewhat off putting as the book progressed. It was too much - too many coincidences, easily explained (but not always believable) turns and somewhat repetitive scenes and dialogue. (I started keeping track of how many times someone said they were going to 'call the police'. Many times) But, I kept reading 'til the end as I wanted to know if the Beths were alive and if there was a connection between them. The (implausible) ending twist? Had that pegged long before the reveal. I found I couldn't get on board with Mariah. I found her annoying, rather than engaging. The other characters were overdrawn caricatures - especially the police chief. 

I had higher hopes for The Three Beths, but it was a bit of a miss for me. Read an excerpt of The Three Beths. Others really enjoyed this book - check out these reviews from Goodreads.