I’ve been a huge fan of Elizabeth George’s Lynley-Havers series of mysteries, and frequently marveled at her ability to establish setting and characterization in ways that truly make them REAL to the reader. I received a copy of The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong, #1 in the Saratoga Woods Series, in exchange for my honest review. 

Honestly? I liked it, more than I expected after learning it was a YA novel set in the Pacific Northwest. The protagonist, Becca, has an ability to “hear whispers” – whatever THAT means – and goes to Whidbey Island off Seattle to hide from her stepfather after she discovered his criminal activities. Alone in a way that she hasn’t previously experienced, she becomes friends with Derric, a Ugandan orphan, a high school dropout and musician, a recovering female alcoho;lic who takes her in, and another woman with whom she shares some sort of psychic connection. Yes, all that is a LOT and while it wasn’t really what I was looking for,  there is no doubt that Ms. George is an incredibly gifted writer and her plotting is, as expected, spot on. Not sure if I will continue the series, but it is definitely recommended. Four stars.