Sophie Last Seen

By: Marlene Adelstein

Narrated by: Madeline Mrozek

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Six years ago, 10-year-old Sophie Albright disappeared from a shopping mall. Her mother, Jesse, is left in a self-destructive limbo, haunted by memories of her intense and difficult child, who was obsessed with birds. Trapped in her grief and guilt, Jesse stumbles through her workdays at a bookstore and spends her off hours poring over Sophie’s bird journals or haunting the mall to search for the face of her missing child.

When Star Silverman, Sophie’s best friend, starts working at the bookstore, Jesse is uncomfortable around the sarcastic teen, who is a constant reminder of her daughter. But Star has secrets of her own, and her childhood memories could be the key to solving Sophie’s disappearance.

With help from Star and Kentucky “Tuck” Barnes, a private detective on the trail of another missing girl, Jesse may finally get some closure, one way or the other.

©2018 Marlene Adelstein (P)2019 Marlene Adelstein

Critic reviews

"A mother's psyche edges toward madness as she tries to solve the puzzle of her daughter's disappearance. A gripping tale of heartbreak and eternal hope." (Beth Hoffman, author of the NYT best seller Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)

"Unique, mysterious, and thoroughly absorbing, Sophie Last Seen is a touching story of love, loss, and survival. I loved it." (Alison Gaylin, USA Today best-selling author of If I Die Tonight)

Haunting

Jesse is a broken woman, forever lost in the cycle of searching for her lost ten-year-old little girl Sophie. She sees her everywhere. In the tiny bird patterns in shirts and in the walk of every teenage girl that passes her. Star, Sophie’s best friend, also sees her friend everywhere she goes. When both women embark on a journey for answers, they find the horrible truth.

This book was a roller-coaster of raw emotion, exploring the pain and grief of a mother’s loss. The trauma experienced by the main characters bonds them, making them stronger as they must live with the loss of Sophie. Star and Jesse were very easy characters to sympathize with and throughout the story, their vibrant emotions were incredibly well-written. Through and through, this is a very haunting story.

The narrator did an excellent job of weaving the emotions, especially the pain and grief, into each character. Every emotion that she demonstrated was very realistic, adding that extra level to the book which made it all the more impacting.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Wow, more than good

I didn't know what to expect, but I couldn't get enough. So much so, I finished the book in 48hrs (family and work). Jessie and Star suffered so much, we could feel their pain. I mean, I have a much better understanding of how someone could devolve after losing a loved one. Especially, when the last words exchanged were words of anger. To live with that kind of guilt. I mean look what it did to Star, and she was only a teen.

This is a damn good book.

Sophie Last Seen

This is a story about pain, loss and healing. How grief can affect us all in different ways, and how it can alter the path of our lives. It was a little slow to start out for me, but I was able to empathize with Jessie immediately. What I really like about this story is how real the characters are. The main character is dealing with the loss of her missing daughter, and is as crazy and desperate as one could imagine.
The performance is good too, professional and enjoyable to listen to.

Mothers will identify

Sophie Last Seen was a suspenseful journey with a guilt ridden mother whose child is abducted. The complexities of the characters lend to the believability and realism of the tale. The writer expertly shares the deepest and darkest sides of the characters in the story so we feel we know them and can identity with their pain. I liked how the plot was not predictable and had interesting twists. The narrator gives voice to each and every character with authenticity bringing the story even more to life. She has many challenges as there are so many different characters to voice but she met them all with talent and skill. I particularly liked her ability to switch between characters flawlessly. Her young girl voices were spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good suspense.

Draws Awareness...and Suspensefully Engages!

Sophie Last Seen by Marlene Adelstein, narrated by Madeline Mrozek kept me listening, almost nonstop, through to the end! I really enjoyed listening! If you have read any of my other reviews, you know I LOVE listening to Madeline Mrozek perform as a narrator. Needless to say, I was very excited when I saw this one. It is the first time I've read/listened to a book by Marlene Adelstein; I'm definitely her newest fan!

Part psychological thriller, part suspenseful mystery, Sophie Last Seen is about a mother's desperate and obsessive search for the truth, regarding her 10-year-old daughter's disappearance from a shopping mall years ago, while the two of them were together. Not knowing what happened to her daughter Sophie that day has caused Jesse (the mother) years of guilt, sadness, and regret. In addition, her inability to move forward with her life has resulted in failed relationships and friendships. Once another girl goes missing, Jesse is more determined than ever to find the answers she been searching for. With the help of a dectective and Sophie's best friend, Jesse takes the signs and clues she's gathered over the years, along with Sophie's old journals - that detail her love for and knowledge of birds - and sets off to find the truth about the day Sophie was last seen.

Adelstein did a great job with character development and transformation. She shows what grief and tragedy can do to one's life, while indirectly teaching readers and listeners many important life lessons. Told in present day, bits and pieces of the characters' lives and events from the past are revealed through flashbacks. I found this very effective, from a listener's standpoint, because it kept the storyline moving at a good pace. It did take me a few chapters to get into the book, but once it hit a certain point, I was fully engaged and could not put it down! Through to the very end, there wasn't a dull moment. Loved it!

Madeline Mrozek was made for this book! I always say that books with a certain intensity, in order to keep listeners interested in the storyline, need a narrator whose voice and tone are consistently calm and inviting. That's Mrozek! She pulled me into the story, and that's where I stayed. I could easily visualize everything, like I was right there, watching it unfold before me. My emotions went from high to low as she played out the events and transformed herself into these characters. Their thoughts, feelings, and emotions became my own, and I found myself rooting for them every step of the way. My overall experience was made better as a result of her outstanding performance. Bravo - well done!

Overall, Sophie Last Seen by Marlene Adelstein, narrated by Madeline Mrozek gets 5 out of 5 stars. The book is professionally recorded, edited, and 100% free from error, unnecessary pauses/sounds, and/or distracting moments. The beginning of the book took a minute to pull me in, but once it did, I loved it. The characters are believable, and the storyline, though being a mother's worst nightmare, is completely realistic. I also love that the author draws awareness to a variety of mental health issues throughout the book. I only listened to the audiobook, so I'm not sure if Adelstein included in the Kindle or print versions a section at the end for "where to go for help" (if dealing with depression, grief, loss, etc.), but it would be a great addition, and this would be the perfect book for it. I recommend this audiobook to those who enjoy reading about love, loss, hope, family relationships, and moving on after tragedy. If you are a fan of mystery, drama, suspense, and literary fiction, you will love Sophie Last Seen. I promise, you will not be disappointed!

Thank you for reading my review I hope it was helpful. Happy listening! :-)

this book was given to me at my request for review

first off I Pray for all families who have lost a child. I loved this book, I had a hard time at first understanding how Jessie could collect all the junk, but after listening to a few chapters I started to understand. I couldn't stop listening to this book.

Missing

Sophie Last Seen is a book about a mothers and fathers worst nightmare. Jesse Albright’s 10 year old daughter is obsessed with birds and disappeared at a local shopping mall 6 years ago while shopping with her mother. Jesse has trouble moving forward in her grief and her marriage falls apart. She copes by collecting everything and anything that she feels will provide a clue to her daughter Sophie’s whereabouts. She is considered odd and strange in her small town and she has cut ties with almost everyone. Jesse reconnects with Sophie’s best childhood friend Star, who is also having trouble dealing with her friend’s disappearance. Together they unravel the mystery about what happened to Sophie. This was a great audible and look forward to others by this author.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good Mystery

This story follows the life of a woman who's ten-year-old daughter went missing. It deals with her grief and the constant wondering of "what happened", then one day she discovers a clue. Following on from that, the mystery starts to bear answers. I thought the characters, writing and world building were good. I also think the narration and production are well done.

Heartbreaking!

Sophie Last Seen by Marlene Adelstein is the nightmare mother's fear. Madeline Mrozek was magical performing this book. She brought the characters to life. I could hear exactly who was speaking. The story focuses around Jesse and her guilt over her daughter's disappearance. As a mother, I could easily relate in wanting a moments peace when dealing with a high demand child. Both author and narrator captured the emotions and feelings of the characters. This book gave me a new perspective on many things. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will most definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. I really thought this book captured the feelings of living after loss and the need to find answers. The twists in the story were so well done. I was surprised with the ending, and found peace with it.

Sophie Last Seen

Sophie’s disappearance broke her mother’s life, her marriage and her relationship with the world She hunts for any clue, any secret meaning in what she saw as “signs” or “clues” that would lead her to her daughter.