After The Girl in Times Square I swore I would’t read another Simons novel. That was until my hairdresser loaned me Eleven Hours, which I then felt obligated to read.
Didi Wood is uncomfortable, restless and heavily pregnant. Trawling through an air-conditioned mall in the heart of a Texan summer, Didi’s shopping is starting to wear her down, and she’s looking forward to meeting her husband Rich for lunch. Unaccountably discomforted by a man who offers to carry her bags, Didi hides out for a while. The man’s gone but, still spooked, Didi rings Rich and leaves a message uncharacteristically asking him to meet her earlier than arranged. Stepping out of the mall to put her shopping in the car before lunch, Didi is followed by the man, who forces her into his car, shopping and all. What does he want, and how can she get away?
In the meantime Rich, startled by Didi’s message, heads to the mall but can’t find her anywhere. Sure that something terrible has happened, he tries to convince authorities that his wife is in danger, and has not met a friend, lost track of time, or been otherwise innocuously delayed.
This is certainly better than The Girl in Times Square – there’s tension and pace, the shifting focus between Rich and Didi is nicely balanced, the frustration Rich feels is nicely depicted, and Didi’s efforts to free herself are realistic. I found the focus of FBI agent Scott Summerville (on capture of the abductor rather than rescue of the hostage) unconvincing, but that could be due to too much exposure to TV. In the hands of someone like Jodi Piccoult this could be a truly great book; in the hands of Simons it’s a nice, interesting, if somewhat shallow, read. – Alex
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