Finding Jake

A Novel

By: Bryan Reardon

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A heart-wrenching yet ultimately uplifting story of psychological suspense in which a parent is forced to confront what he does - and does not - know about his teenage son, in the vein of Reconstructing Amelia, Defending Jacob, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

While his successful wife goes off to her law office each day, Simon Connolly takes care of their kids, Jake and Laney. Now that they are in high school, the angst-ridden father should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He's seen the statistics, read the headlines. And now, his darkest fear is coming true. There has been a shooting at school.

Simon races to the rendezvous point, where he's forced to wait. Do they know who did it? How many victims were there? Why did this happen? One by one, parents are led out of the room to reunite with their children. Their numbers dwindle, until Simon is alone.

As his worst nightmare unfolds, and Jake is the only child missing, Simon begins to obsess over the past, searching for answers, for hope, for the memory of the boy he raised, for mistakes he must have made, for the reason everything came to this. Where is Jake? What happened in those final moments? Is it possible he doesn't really know his son? Or he knows him better than he thought?

Brilliantly paced, Finding Jake explores these questions in a tense and emotionally wrenching narrative. Harrowing and heartbreaking, surprisingly healing and redemptive, it is a story of faith and conviction, strength, courage, and love that will leave listeners questioning their own lives, and those they think they know.

©2015 Bryan Reardon (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Great story!

Would love to have a longer book ! The story was a bit hard to follow on time past and present

A Quiet One

What did you love best about Finding Jake?

A gripping story of a stay at home dad and a quiet child. The author weaves a tale of a traumatic event, flashbacks and the here and now that the listener can not turn off the sound.

What other book might you compare Finding Jake to and why?

Reardon writes in a Jodi Piccoult style.

What about George Newbern’s performance did you like?

He became the father with Reardon's words and his emotional performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Another shooting at a high school, 13 dead, and two suspects. How do parents of the accused deal with this reality?

Thoughtful

A horrible tragedy for sure. But as this is part of our world, it makes the point that we are in it together. A parent hurts no less if their child does something bad than a parent whose child has something bad done to them. It’s still your child. Good or bad. It still hurts.

Well done!

Kept my interest throughout. At times predictable but in a good way. Had enough surprises to make we want to keep going. Very believable!

FINDING JAKE is Finding a Great Read!

Bryan Reardon’s FINDING JAKE is the kind of book that immediately grabbed my attention when I read the preview. It made me think of NINETEEN MINUTES, one of my favorites from the amazing Jodi Picoult, and by the time I finished FINDING JAKE, I wasn’t disappointed. I loved that the story was told from the father’s point of view as it gave it a much different feel and emotional background. Through the well-written flashbacks, readers learn about Simon and Rachel. From how they fell in love, were married, and joyfully gave birth to Jake and younger sister Laney, to how Simon came to be the house husband; a stay-at-home dad. Because Simon describes his inner thoughts, it helped me to better understand how it effected his occasionally peculiar actions and, at other times, his achingly despondent personality and unpredictable emotions.

Simon seems adjusted to his role although he does explain how hard it is for him to be a male in with all the mothers who seem to have such different parenting styles than Simon. It is only when there is a shooting at his children’s school that Simon faces much different emotions. With Laney safe, Simon is left to find Jake who is unaccounted for. As things progress, Jake also becomes a suspect in the shootings and Simon begins a frantic search for the son he is devoted to but now begins to question just how well he knew his boy. Could Jake have been part of this horror? Where had Simon gone wrong? Just where is Jake? Unlike most mothers in this situation, Simon has no support system and even Rachel grows farther away from Simon when she feels that he might think Jake is guilty.

The action escalates as the family is forced to leave their home while police search it, and on top of that, the family must now also deal with the media. I LOVED this book and could not stop listening to it. I think that Simon’s different viewpoint is what made the narrative so compelling. I was totally engrossed in Reardon’s exceptionally talented work. I also think that because I really did not like Rachel, that it added to my enjoyment of the story as I found myself applauding Simon even more! With twists and turns that had me thinking one thing and then another, the conclusion was quite unexpected. If you like a thriller with heart, FINDING JAKE is an audio book you will want to pick up.

great character studies

tough topic, very well written. reads along quickly. couldn't put it down. highly recommend it.

A parent's worst nightmare. Utterly engrossing!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!

Any additional comments?

Finding Jakes takes you on a journey into the lives of a family of 4 that is not quite the norm in today's society. The mother is a lawyer who frequently works late and the father is a stay at home father with two sweet, completely opposite children, Jake and Lainey. Jake is introverted while Lainey is a social butterfly.

One fateful day, a parent's worst nightmare, their whole world is crushed around them when they find out there has been a school shooting at their children's school.

This story is utterly engrossing. You will not be able to put it down. There should be a warning on the cover because of the intense emotions this book will envoke.

I don't want to write too much, in hopes that I won't give the story away, but just take my word, this is a book you NEED to pick up.

If you enjoyed Defending Jacob, you will certainly enjoy this as well.

Finding Jake

A wonderful story of a stay at home Dad, that constantly questions his parenting abilities, and feels every decision he makes is wrong. However it turns out to be just the opposite. Highly recommended!

Hard to put down!

Would you listen to Finding Jake again? Why?

There's enough 'out there' to read. I don't need to read the same book again.

What did you like best about this story?

Well written, Exiting, Diffferent and unexpected

Which character – as performed by George Newbern – was your favorite?

The Father, but he's the voice, the one you get to know, and the thoughts you learn.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When you realize the truth.

Any additional comments?

The only negative- it could be a litte slow at times.The flashbacks could be too long .But maybee nessesary for the Whole story?!

Great book must read

People are not who they are proceed to be. This book is touching , emotional and eye opening and love story.