When thirteen-year-old Kristin Marshall is kidnapped from the local recreation center, her family and friends can’t forgive themselves. Her mother becomes obsessive and protective with her remaining children, her father buries his grief in his search for Kristin, and her siblings are angry and confused about how drastically their lives are changing.


Meanwhile, Kristin is happily adjusting to her different life, except for one small thing: a difficult “assignment” in which she has to try to help her family heal their aching hearts. As Kristin embarks on this journey, she struggles to find a balance between helping her family find peace in their lives while at the same time, finding the man who kidnapped their daughter.

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Prompted by an associate to write this book after the “summer of kidnappings” in 2002, Rachel Ann Nunes finds the delicate balance between accurately portraying a kidnapper’s nightmare and giving a positive gospel outlook on the situation. Although some of her thoughts on life after death may be a stretch, Nunes states in her notes that she only wanted to “give readers a feeling of the happiness that awaits”. Given that statement, I would advise those interested in Nunes’ book to give her story a chance; maybe you don’t have the same ideas as her on the afterlife, but at least her book will make you think and open your eyes to the possibilities.

After being weighed down by reading Nunes’ cheeky romance novel, “The Ties That Bind”, I found “A Heartbeat Away” a welcome relief and a good portrayal of reality. The book kept my attention simply with the plot to find the kidnapper, but Nunes added so much more with her subplot detailing kidnapper victim Kristin’s life. I would recommend this book for women ages 12+. Once you pick it up, you won’t put it down until you find out who Kristin’s kidnapper is (and believe me – she will keep you guessing!)

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“A Heartbeat Away” was written by Rachel Ann Nunes and published by Bonneville Books, 2003.