Finding Sharon

By: Matt Birkbeck

Narrated by: Matt Birkbeck

Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In his international best seller A Beautiful Child, award-winning investigative journalist Matt Birkbeck told the heartbreaking story of a brilliant and beautiful young woman known as Sharon Marshall.

Caught in the murderous web of the monster she called her father, Sharon wasn’t her real name. But her horrifying story captured the hearts of people everywhere and lead to a 10-year search to resolve two great mysteries - what was her true identity and what became of her young son Michael, who was kidnapped from his first grade classroom and never seen again.

The worldwide interest in Sharon’s story prompted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to open a new case file enlisting the FBI - and with A Beautiful Child as a road map, two FBI agents set their sights on death row interviews with Sharon’s tormentor to learn the shocking truth.

Equal parts memoir and narrative journalism, Finding Sharon picks up where A Beautiful Child left off and brings to a close one of the greatest mysteries in the annals of law enforcement - and a miraculous ending that will leave you in tears.

Reviews

“Finding Sharon is a thrilling detective story with a heart of love. Matt Birkbeck shows himself again to be a wonderful storyteller and a most determined investigator as he unravels the final chapter of the tragic and mysterious journey of a gifted young woman.” (Paul Moses, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of An Unlikely Union and The Saint and the Sultan)

"I will never forget Finding Sharon - and that is a testament to investigative journalist Matt Birkbeck's dedication to an otherwise forgotten soul. Sharon Marshall wasn't a celebrity, she was never going to be famous but her life mattered. Birkbeck’s compelling narrative here - and in A Beautiful Child before it - lays bare seething evil. But this must read also gives value to an otherwise anonymous soul and reveals how the human spirit can flourish even under the worst circumstances." (Diane Dimond, author and journalist)

©2018 Matt Birkbeck (P)2021 Matt Birkbeck

Moving

Pray for the happy repose of the souls of Suzanne Marie Sevakis and her son Michael

Haunting Yet Soooo Satisfying

I read A Beautiful Child and the tragic story of Sharon Marshall some years ago. It was an incredible read, and it always stuck with me. Sharon had so much to give, yet the circumstances surrounding her life with the monster she called her father sickened me. There were many sleepless nights as I always wondered who was Sharon Marshall, and where did she come from, who were her parents, her family. In Finding Sharon, Matt Birkbeck continues the journey he started in 2004 and brings us the stunning conclusion to an astonishing story. I'm new to audiobooks but enjoyed it greatly. Listening to the author tell his own story of how this all came to be brought me even closer, and I was in tears when he tied up all the loose ends, and then some with a remarkable ending. This is one of the most amazing true stories you'll ever read, yet one that is so well told.

Heartbreaking

Please make sure you read a beautiful child first. It’s amazing to think how much one person can touch so many lies even when their life by all accounts is broken. Thank goodness for all the people that came together to put this massive puzzle together I cannot even imagine the profound effect it had on everyone involved with this investigation and learning about the story. I wish I could say it was just fiction but unfortunately we know that’s not true.

Loved the wrap up

I have been enthralled with this story for a long time, listening to podcasts, documentaries, and reading A beautiful child. This was a good wrap of of Suzanne’s life. Couldn’t help but cry at the end. It’s good to see goodness still in the world. Cliff, was right look at all the good his daughter accomplished in her short time. May God wrap his arms around this sweet sweet girl.

This sequel delivers

This sequel delivered on all that was yet unknown at the end of its prequel, A Beautiful Child.

Despite having read the first book and viewing various research on the case, the multilayers of deception surrounding Suzanne’s life are still difficult to comprehend.

Matt Birkbeck successfully treads a fine journalistic line again. Bringing dark facts to the light for further examination, but never veering into sensationalism or judgment, even when it would be far simpler to do so. He weaves together the many, many lives Suzanne touched, and the final pages honor her life and memory in a way that brought tears to my eyes.

Loved hearing the case was solved

Would have preferred a different narrator though; Didn’t necessarily like the authors voice. It just felt like he was reading something that was boring to him.

Shameless book plugs everywhere.

I get the fact this book is a follow up to the author’s other book, “A beautiful child.” But his shameless plugs every other sentence (it seems) is rather tedious and annoying and makes Birkbeck sound full of himself and high handed about the success of his book.

Asides from that, the book was great with details from the case which sparked my interest from Spotify’s Rotten Mango podcast. The audio was decent and was on track.

Ummm no

It was very short and super duper redundant. He kept repeating entire events after a new fact or person was introduced. I literally checked 2 times to see if I had accidentally jumped back a chapter or two. You can find everything in this book in a two second google search. Sorry to be unkind but it was not good.