Read Practically in One Sitting, Riveted, Thoroughly Enjoying It, Never Bored

What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTiernan deals with a parent’s greatest fear, a missing child. It reads like a gripping police procedural wrapped in a study of family dynamics, which is further wrapped in literary fiction. A young college aged couple, Nina and Simon, who’ve been involved for about four years go off to Stowe Vermont, a short distance from their homes, for a week of hiking, but only Simon returns from this trip, and Nina’s family is unaware he’s home, somewhat reminiscent of Gabby Petito’s disappearance during a summer vacation with boyfriend Brian Laundrie who returns to his family in Gabby’s van, while Gabby’s family, not notified of Brian’s return, grows increasingly alarmed when she fails to respond to repeated attempts at communication with her, ultimately prompting them to contact law enforcement. Themes in the book involve domestic violence’s coersive control, inter-partner violence, dealing with grief and trauma, the lasting effect of social media’s innuendo and rumor upon lives, how well we really know people in our and our children’s lives, the differences between how families react when their lives are completely turned upside down, and the ramifications of their choices under that circumstance. 

One set of parents is consumed with learning the truth about where their daughter is, when she suddenly becomes inexplicably unreachable, and another couple’s greatest fear is their son may be lying about what happened on that trip; their wealth allowing them to soon contact a “reputation rescue” firm to manage the ensuing internet viral storm about the ongoing story, and shortly thereafter retain a top attorney.  Author McTiernan sets the tone at the book’s begining with an Agatha Christie quotation from The Last Séance: “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” Upon first reading the ominously enigmatic quote is a bit of a mystery, but by the book’s end, no one fails to grasp its meaning. 

Simon’s mother observes, “Basically, the rule is that you have to talk about your kid as if he’s something between a mild and a serious inconvenience to the life you actually want to live. What you are not allowed to say is that they are the light and purpose you live for. Not, at least, unless you lose them. Then you can say anything you want. You can tell the truth…What are the social rules when your child is a murderer?” Playing by the rules is a theme reflected as the wealthier family early on behaves as though they make the rules, while Nina’s family feels stonewalled at almost every turn, living with the economic and emotional consequences of being on the receiving end of those who do manipulate the online dialogue. In a surprising turn of events, Nina’s beleaguered parents ultimately find themselves in foreign territory when they attempt to wrestle the truth from from a key player as the universe presents an opportunity to do so. 

I read this Kindle with Audible narration practically in one sitting, riveted, thoroughly enjoying it, and never bored. There’s been some controversy about the book’s cover, some saying it’s trashy and conveys the wrong idea about the book. I’d been seeing this cover repeatedly on Goodreads every time someone selected it to read, and I always saw it as an image of a young woman, Nina, full of fun and future on a summer’s day, who vanished in the blink of an eye, devastating all who knew her. I liked that it celebrated a young woman’s irrepressible free spirit. So often in the past, crimes of violence to women seem to search for reasons to blame the victim, and in turn the family that raised her, an ugliness that reared it’s head in this book as opposing forces scrambled to control the internet narrative, producing a second victimization for the people closest to an apparent murder victim.