Robert Sand disappeared seven years ago. He was a teacher who vanished during a school history trip that he was chaperoning, leaving behind his wife, Victoria, and their two young sons. Since then, Victoria has been left to pick up the pieces and carry on with life while coping with an overwhelming grief. Even after all these years, she refuses to give up hope.
Not long after Robert disappeared, Victoria started having recurring dreams. They are always about water. The dreams are so vivid that she cannot shake the feeling that Robert is somehow trying to tell her something.
As the seventh anniversary of Robert's disappearance approaches, strange things begin to happen. Her eldest son, Harrison, becomes convinced that he has found Robert's car on Google Images. Meanwhile, her younger son, Jameson, is about to go on a school trip to the very same place where Robert disappeared years ago.
I have a love and hate relationship with this story. Maybe it is because the pacing is quite slow, or because there are too many small details that kept me occupied without really moving the plot forward. The author was clearly building towards something, but it honestly took about 80 percent of the book before things finally started getting interesting.
What I appreciated the most was Victoria's unwavering hope. Despite the passing years, she never stopped believing that Robert would find his way back to his family one day. Her relationship with her mother, who is living with Alzheimer's disease, was another aspect that stayed with me. Their moments together were touching and gave the story an emotional depth beyond the central mystery. I also liked that Victoria had such a supportive best friend by her side through everything she was going through.
If you enjoy slow burn mysteries with emotional family dynamics, you might want to give this one a try.