*Synopsis*
Kick Lannigan, 21, is a survivor. Abducted at age six in broad daylight, the police, the public, perhaps even her family assumed the worst had occurred. And then Kathleen Lannigan was found, alive, six years later. In the early months following her freedom, as Kick struggled with PTSD, her parents put her through a litany of therapies, but nothing helped until the detective who rescued her suggested Kick learn to fight. Before she was thirteen, Kick learned marksmanship, martial arts, boxing, archery, and knife throwing. She excelled at every one, vowing she would never be victimized again. But when two children in the Portland area go missing in the same month, Kick goes into a tailspin. Then an enigmatic man Bishop approaches her with a proposition: he is convinced Kick's experiences and expertise can be used to help rescue the abductees. Little does Kick know the case will lead directly into her terrifying past.
*My Thoughts*
Chelsea Cain's One Kick is the first novel in her Kick Lannigan series. Twenty-One year old Kick Lannigan, as she likes to be called now, was kidnapped when she was six. Five years later, she's miraculously rescued by the FBI and returned to her family. One Kick is set Ten years after Kick was rescued, and touches on subjects like pedophilia, child pornography, abuse, and child trafficking. Subjects that most people shy away from, instead of perhaps standing up and helping authorities find these sick twisted perverts who continue to take our children on a daily basis.
Kick has been through everything from biofeedback therapy, to inpatient rebirthing compression therapy by her mother. Kit decided that she will never again be a victim or put herself through the pain. She's taught herself marksmanship, martial arts, boxing, archery, and knife throwing, among a host of other impressive things. Kick also has penchant for being aware of other child abduction cases, and along with her "brother" James, keeps an extensive program to track stranger abductions.
Kick finds herself working alongside the very mysterious Bishop when two children in the Portland area go missing. Bishop is convinced that Kick's experiences and expertise as a victim, can be used to help rescue the abductees. Unfortunately for Kick, this means diving back into her dark past, and once again facing the people who tore her away from her family, and made her a child porn internet star. One should definitely ask about Bishop, who he works for, and what his ultimate goals are when it comes to Kick.
Kick has her own burdens to carry and is far from perfect. I would not expect her to be so considering everything that she's been through. How can you be when you continually get notifications that your "other" name is still being shown across pedophile web pages? How can you been when you have a mother who is a glory seeking whore who believes money is more important than her own family? Cain introduces a surprising aspect to her story, and that is the relationship between captor and captive. I can't imagine what other missing children are being forced to do in order to stay alive. It just curls my stomach.
One Kick is a very difficult story to read at times because of what I mentioned in my opening. Readers are probably familiar with the Elizabeth Smart case. But, while Elizabeth's ended in a happy ending for her and her family, there are millions of other children who have never been brought home safely to their families. The public is absolutely thirsty and insatiable when it comes to looking into the lives of people who experienced tragic losses and horrors that would curl the toes of a sane person.
**I would suggest that you go and visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's web page for more information. Sometimes, the smallest clues, can lead to the return of an innocent child.**
Author - Chelsea Cain
Title - One Kick (Kick Lannigan # 1)
Released by Simon & Schuster
Publication date: August 19, 2014
Genre: Adult Mystery, Thriller
Format: E-Book 320 pages
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