THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND by Jennifer McMahon begins in 1985 in a small town called Brighton Falls, CT. It is the story of Regina Dufrane. She is 13 years old and that summer a serial killer named Neptune is kidnapping women. He leaves their right hand on the door steps of the Brighton Police Department, as if he is mocking them. After five days, he leaves their bodies somewhere in town on display. The last victim is Reggie's mother, Vera. Her hand is left on the steps, but her body is never found.

Fast forward 25 years and Reggie's Mom is found alive. All of a sudden her past comes back to smack Reggie right in the face. Reggie must return to Brighton Falls to bring her mom back to her sister Lorraine's home. Reggie left all of that behind, sort of, when she left at the age of 17. She has a boyfriend who comes with no strings attached. He wants more but Reggie is afraid to commit because of her past. He doesn't even know about any of it and she refuses to tell him. With the return of Vera, also comes the return of Neptune. He takes a new victim, one of Reggie's best friends when she was young. Now the only one who can save this friend is Reggie. Reggie learns a lot about her past and what happened twenty five years earlier.

THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND really kept me guessing. I had no idea who Neptune was until the end. I was so caught up in Reggie's life; my heart broke for her and her mother. I was frantically turning the pages during the second half of the book...so many twists and turns. I just had to find it how it was going to end.

This was my first book by Jennifer �McMahon and it will NOT be my last. You will be sucked in right from the beginning and it will not let you go until the very last page. �The chapters go back and forth between 1985 and the present so you have to pay attention to the dates so you won't be confused.

Book Summary

The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.