Mine

I have no rationale for why I read this book this week. It sounded good. It went on sale. I knew I usually like what this author does, so I made it mine. Convenient, I suppose, that the book is Mine by Robert McCammon.

Mine by [McCammon, Robert R.]

A new mother, Laura, has just given birth to her first child, a boy she names David. Almost immediately, a disturbed woman, Mary, kidnaps the child in broad daylight and races across the country to rejoin the revolutionary group she belonged decades earlier. So, it’s basically every mother’s worst fear.

The book wastes no time diving straight into the, um, disturbing. The preface describes, in detail, exactly how Mary deals with her children. For half a second, I almost put it down and walked away. Read it. You’ll understand what I’m talking about. (It isn’t all this deranged, so keep reading.)

When the book starts, Mary is living in a shady apartment. She spends her days working at Burger King and her nights caring for her newest baby. Unfortunately, she has a habit of tripping out on acid, and a very short fuse with her babies, who – shockingly – refuse to eat. I mean, the nerve of a plastic baby refusing to eat the food that Mary so lovingly prepares in her roach-infested kitchen . . . anyway. She dreams of her old lover, Lord Jack, who led their terrorist band of misfits in the 60’s. She has a pile of discarded babies – all boys – in her closet. When she sees an ad in a magazine, she knows someone is trying to reassemble their group, and she knows Lord Jack will be expecting her to show up with their son.

At the same time, Laura is enjoying a comfortable life as a columnist for a local Atlanta publication. She may have had her hippie days in college, but now she’s settled nicely into married life with her husband, John, who manages stocks and portfolios. They have a nice house, drive fancy cars, and wear expensive clothes. Now, at eight months pregnant, her world gets turned upside down: John has a secret. As she tries to cope with the twist in her personal life, she gives birth, alone in the hospital, to her son. Her mother, who believes outward appearance trumps internal happiness, isn’t helping. And then, while recovering from a difficult delivery in the hospital, a nurse comes in to weigh the baby; but she doesn’t bring the baby back.

What follows is a fast-paced thriller of the best kind: one woman wants desperately to be the mother and present the child as a gift to her leader; one woman wants desperately to get her child back, no matter the cost, and will risk anything to reclaim her son. There are unlikely allies, innocent victims, and people out for revenge. For me, it was interesting to watch these two women, who come from two very different backgrounds, interacting with such open hatred (can’t kill anyone in front of an IHOP by the highway, that would be too much attention!). They both see the baby the same: “mine”. It is, quite literally, a cat-and-mouse chase from Georgia to California, and you just know there is no way this will end well.

Mary and Laura do have one thing in common: they are both looking for purpose. Mary is a fugitive, never staying long in one place or holding down a steady job, changing her name and appearance each time she moves around. She clings to the past and her involvement with Lord Jack’s little group of terrorists because they gave her a cause, a purpose, and she wants desperately to feel that again. Laura is an unsatisfied wife when the book begins, and she quickly becomes lost in despair with the kidnapping of her child. Without her son, she struggles to eat and sleep and not lose hope; she is desperate for purpose, desperate to have a reason to function.

So, I really liked it. Like most books by Robert McCammon, the ending comes quickly and there is very little final resolution. Yes, the primary story arc is resolved, but there are several smaller story lines that just basically end with an “oh, well” attitude. It’s funny: I know from past experience that I hate these types of endings; I know from past experience that this author does it all the time; and I still find it frustrating.

On a side note, can we talk about how much I love his book covers? Whoever decided to go back and redo all book covers into big font, bold colors, and simple design is a genius.

Overall: 8/10

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