Rue Dunwitty takes a break from her busy San Francisco life to visit her grandmother in rural Amethyst, Texas. Upon arrival, she sees a poster with a young girl's picture and the words HAVE YOU SEEN DAWN? It seems the young teenager vanished without a trace Thanksgiving weekend. Rue is deeply affected by the disappearance in her sleepy hometown and can't get the poster image out of her mind.
Rue's little vacation is disrupted by a series of suspenseful events. She sees a strange light out in the field in the middle of the night. She meets the attractive new deputy with an upsetting past. She sees a body that mysteriously vanishes before authorities arrive on the scene. Dylan, her handsome new boyfriend, suddenly appears in Amethyst for a visit.
Many factors and a handful of suspicious townsfolk convince Rue that the answer to Dawn's disappearance is in Amethyst. She is close to finding the truth. Someone out there knows that and will do anything to stop Rue.
This Steven Saylor work meets all the requirements of a basic suspense novel. The rural landscape and isolated old Dunwitty farm provide a creepy setting for the tale. Technology savvy Rue leaves her better judgment back in San Francisco, thus allowing her to get into potentially dangerous jams that heighten the plot. Dylan (whose sudden arrival in Texas is a little too convenient) exhibits suspicious behavior, as do several of the other characters.
Have You Seen Dawn? flows along the vein of Mary Higgins Clark-style suspense novels--pretty, smart heroine gets tangled in a crime with a love interest thrown in the pot for good measure. The ending is a bit swift and the loose ends are neatly packaged in the last few pages. This story is an entertaining weekend escape, though it doesn't stand out from the crowd.
