The Summer We Lost Her

April 29, 2019
Nuanced characters and high-stakes drama drive the plot in Cohen’s latest (after The Search Angel). Elise is a renowned dressage rider whose accident on horseback while pregnant caused their now eight-year-old daughter, Gracie, to be born with mild cerebral palsy, creating an emotional distance between Elise and her husband, Matt. Faced with the mounting expenses from Elise’s riding career and Gracie’s education, the couple decides to sell the acreage Matt inherited from his grandfather on Lake Placid. While at the lakefront cabin, Matt encounters a longtime crush from his past, who creates an even larger emotional rift between him and his wife. When Gracie is abducted while waiting for the bus, Elise and Matt face a potential breaking point. During Matt’s quest to find his daughter, he discovers that the supposedly idyllic town where he grew up harbors some dark secrets. Simultaneously, Elise struggles with guilt over Gracie’s abduction and the lack of support from an increasingly distant husband. Readers will keep turning pages to find out if Gracie is returned home safely. Although abrupt timeline jumps and overly prosaic dialogue sometimes muddle the narrative, Cohen’s depiction of complex characters who constantly challenge the reader’s expectations make this a worthwhile outing. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House.