BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR by RK Avery

Intriguing……captivating…...lifelike

From the publisher

Bunting Valley, North Dakota—a scenic and picturesque town where nothing dreadful ever happens—is a place where people feel safe leaving their front doors unlocked and their cars running in the driveways. So when beautiful, blue-eyed, three-year-old Maggie Taylor mysteriously vanishes, the Bunting Valley Police Department begins a kidnapping investigation that uncovers unthinkable crimes spanning many years—not only in Bunting Valley, but also in surrounding states and jurisdictions.

Bea Miller is a penniless widow, living a meager existence among the town’s residents with her four young, rambunctious boys. Her entire life she wished and dreamed of having a little girl of her own. When everything she did to have one of her own failed, Bea takes matters into her own hands and lives by the chilling words of her estranged father, “If you want something, take it.”  She and the boys visit a local beach and find the little girl of her dreams. She snatches the girl and they disappear in seconds, only to leave the parents bewildered and devastated.

Through the handwritten journals of Bea Miller, she takes you on a journey into the deranged mind of an individual who believes you can make your own wishes come true—at any expense; and sadly, also at the expense of others.

My take

What kind of person plans to take a child? Involving her other children in abduction so she can have the daughter she always wanted? Once she has the girl, why is Bea so callous as to let the girl suffocate just so she doesn’t get caught? 

Bea Miller is an intriguing piece of work. The first portion of the book tells the reader WHAT she has done while the last portion tells us WHY. It’s so hard to imagine the life Bea had growing up. Coming from a very loving family, I can’t fathom living the hell that she lived through.  As hard as it is to understand, the author keeps us captivated throughout the entire book. It’s one of those books you can’t put down even though the subject matter is challenging. 

Once the journals are found and we read about Bea’s past, it’s hard to decide if they should “lock her up & throw away the key” and “get her some help”.  Should she pay for her crime or just get assistance for her mental condition?  

Be Careful What You Wish For is not a book where the reader can just lose themselves in a fictional world.  No, the reader gets totally immersed in the actual words spinning around them. Bea almost becomes real—you go through so many emotions and you want to take sides on the outcome.

I have no problem giving this book 5 stars.  Ms Avery tells the story as if it were her own—lifelike descriptions and sensations.  Great job, Ms Avery!