Face Down In Rising Sun

A missing small town girl and the crime that shocked the world

Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
422 Pages
Reviewed on 07/17/2021
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite

A young woman falls in love with a man of questionable character who alters her life in unimaginable ways in the stunning historical novel, Face Down In Rising Sun: A Missing Small Town Girl and the Crime That Shocked the World by KD Allbaugh. When Clara meets Erdman at the Box Social, she instantly falls in love with him. To the dismay of her younger sister and older brothers, Clara and Erdman start dating. When Erdman displays a sinister side to his character, her love for him overrides her concerns about his darker behavior, while her younger sister worries about her safety. One morning her family awakens to find that Clara has disappeared without a trace. After searching for her without any results, her family believes Erdman is responsible for her sudden disappearance. Did Clara leave of her own free will, as Erdman insists? Or did she fall prey to his darker side and he silenced her forever?

Set in the early twentieth century, Face Down In Rising Sun by KD Allbaugh is an extraordinary novel. It is captivating from the first page until the shocking last one. The author acquaints you with Clara and Erdman separately, so you understand both of their points of view. Intense and dramatic, the plot dramatizes the hardships of living with a mentally disturbed parent and how it affects everyone around them. Even though I sympathized with Erdman, I thought it tragic that he sullied the life of such a loving and gentle girl. As the story continued to unfold, and I got to know both Erdman and Clara better, the conflicts looming in their future had me on edge. Intense and heartrending, this phenomenal novel is so realistic that I had to check to make sure it was fiction. This poignant and sensational book will captivate everyone who enjoys stories with the elements of genuine characters, a dramatic plot, romance, and murder set in another era.

Trish Helgerson

Could not put this book down until I read it from cover to cover.