Reviewer: Annie
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
In what passes for an ordinary day in a psych ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is stumped when a highly unusual case arrives. A young African American girl, found wandering the streets of Buffalo in a catatonic state, is brought in by police. No one has come forward to claim her, and all leads have been exhausted, so Zoe’s treatment is the last hope to discover the girl’s identity.
When drugs prove ineffective and medical science seems to be failing, Zoe takes matters into her own hands to track down Jane Doe’s family and piece together their checkered history. As she unearths their secrets, she finds that monsters hide where they are least expected. And now she must solve the mystery before it is too late. Because someone wants to make sure this young girl never remembers.
The Girl Without a Name is a powerful novel of memory and forgetting, of unexpected friendship and understanding…and of the secrets we protect no matter the consequences.
Review:
This book was fabulous! I wish it was not over, and I can only hope there is more to come! Sandra Block is a magnificent story teller!! A psychological thriller at its best! I need to go back and read Sandra Blocks first story with Dr. Zoe Goldman, “Little Black Lies”.
The story begins with a patient being admitted to the Child-Psych Ward, who is catatonic and no one knows her proper age or name…let alone what happened to her. She was found wandering the streets of Buffalo, NY and the police brought her in to the hospital.
Their best guess is that she is between the ages of 12 and 14. They call her Jane Doe, as she has no identification and she is not speaking. What happened to this girl?
Zoe was such a great character, I really took to her. I loved her strained, yet loving relationship with her brother. I believe that the grief she is feeling from her Mother’s death is very real. Her boss, Dr. Tad Berringer is another great character. While I may not have liked everything, that is what made this story so superb.
I had so much fun walking with Zoe through her days…especially when she did rounds at the hospital. She had issues with ADHD, and she was seeing her own physiatrist. They could not get her medications regulated, so she was all over the place emotionally. Sandra Block does a lot of justice making you really feel Zoe’s issues.
Zoe was on probation as a resident because she failed the RITE Exam. But, she took this exam two weeks after her Mother’s death and she did not even study. She is studying throughout this book. I loved how Sandra Block showed us some of the questions Zoe was studying. All of this book was just so interesting to me. It kept my attention throughout.
The true essence of who everyone is and what they are dealing with is told very well. I was impressed with all of the details given on all of characters in this book, let alone the patients that Zoe would see.
But, Zoe is obsessed with finding out who Jane Doe is and how she got there. To tell you more would be an injustice.
Read this book.
5 Stars
This sounds like one I would absolutely love, a bit fascinated by all things psychology related! Already added to my TBR list. x