SAVING MADELINE

 I have been given the opportunity to read the latest novel, Saving Madeline, by my favorite Author, Award-winning novelist, Rachel Ann Nunes', and write a review to post on my blog.  I have been so excited to share this with you.  I have read and love all of Rachel's books, but I think this one has touched me the most.  I could not put this book down.  It has given me insight to the serious subject of drug abuse and child neglect, and how it affects everyone around you, especially innocent children.  It is a very heart-wrenching and touching story and it will bring tears to your eyes.  I believe everyone needs to read and hear this message so that you can be more aware of what drugs can do to those you love. 

Be sure to leave your comments.  Anyone who comments on this review will automatically be put into a drawing to win a free copy of  Saving Madeline.  Winners will be announced on Rachel's website and will be contacted sometime after September 25th.

Book Summary

As a public defender, Caitlin McLoughlin dreams of someday locking the bad guys in prison instead of defending them. But prosecuting jobs are scarce, and Caitlin’s future seems bleak. When her current client is about to walk away from a brutal crime, she risks her career to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Yet what if her choice means sacrificing her career and the means care for her mentally disabled sister?

Then Caitlin meets Parker Hathaway, charged with kidnapping four-year-old Madeline. Just another criminal, another job, Caitlin thinks.

But Parker tells a far different story. Can Caitlin believe him, as her heart urges? Is she willing to put everything on the line to defend her client—a man who claims to be protecting the child he loves? Or is her trust better placed in the handsome deputy district attorney with his undefeated record in court? Caitlin’s pursuit of the truth swiftly thrusts her into a maze of unanswered questions and unexpected heartache.

Meanwhile, time is running out for Madeline. If Caitlin doesn't find the proof she is looking for soon, there may not be a future for any of them.

Author's Comments

Several years ago, shock radiated throughout Utah when an infant was found dead after ingesting meth she had found in a plastic bag on the floor of her home. What made this tragic circumstance even more notable and horrific is that weeks earlier her father had forcibly taken her across state lines, hoping to protect her from her mother’s substance abuse. Authorities found the child, placed her back with her mother, and sent the father to jail for assault and burglary. A little over a week later, the baby was dead and the mother was charged with desecration of a dead body for moving her daughter to cover up the mother’s drug abuse. All charges against the father were eventually dropped.   Sadly, this is not the only story of a child becoming the victim of a parent’s drug use.


States seem to be losing the battle against methamphetamine addiction. Child welfare, law enforcement, substance abuse, and treatment systems are overloaded. Some estimate that over 8.3 million children in the United States live with a parent who has a substance abuse issue. Nearly 2 million child abuse cases each year are investigated, and a half million of those have enough evidence to act on. Some 200,000 children are removed from their homes each year.

But what about the cases that aren’t proven? What about the children who fall through the cracks, but are still at risk? To what lengths might a non-custodial parent be compelled to go in order to protect a child from danger?

These were the questions I thought about as I began writing Saving Madeline. I wanted to show one man’s dilemma in balancing his need to protect his daughter with his duty to obey the law, to detail his struggle in an overloaded system where there are no second chances for the innocent victims.

To learn more about Rachel Ann Nunes, you can visit her at her website here:  http://www.ranunes.com/