STANDING STILL
A young mother with panic disorder is home alone with her kids when the unthinkable happens – she finds a man upstairs about to kidnap her daughter. When she begs him to take her instead, no one is more surprised than she is when he agrees. As their secrets and motivations are revealed over the week she is held for ransom, an unlikely alliance is formed as the story twists and turns towards its surprising conclusion.
PRAISE
“An electrifying debut. The perfect read for a stormy night, Simmons’s suspenseful tale contains nary a wasted word.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Invigorating prose. Like Midnight Run with a female Charles Grodin.”
—Entertainment Weekly (B+ review)
“Subtle, scary, yet almost gentle.”
—New York Daily News
“The prose is concise, resonant, vibrant, thoughtfully crafted, and worth savoring.”
—Romantic Times (four stars)
“Kelly Simmons debut novel is an emotional page turner reminiscent of best-selling authors like Lisa Gardner or Key Hooper.”
—Curled up.com
“This compelling debut is a clever, nervy thriller.”
—Financial Times of London
“The most impressive debut novel I have read in a long time. A novel of breathtaking originality. Highly recommended.”
–Reviewers Bookwatch
1. “In all things, I blame the husband.” How does Claire’s sentiment relate specifically to her relationship with her husband, Sam? How does the nature of their relationship complicate Sam’s negotiations for Claire’s release?
2. How does Claire’s acute panic disorder govern the decisions she makes in her life? To what extent do her fear and anxiety seem grounded in the normal stress and strain of raising small children in today’s dangerous world? How do her feelings about her father’s death seem connected to this anxiety?
3. “I list what I know: A Cutlass, velour interior, at least fifteen years old….He looks Latin, yet is over six feet tall.” How does Claire’s training as a journalist color her own account of her own abduction?
4. How does the organization of Standing Still into chapters representing each day of the abduction impact your sense of the looming deadline for Claire’s ransom? To what extent do you think the effect of the flashbacks is like Claire’s life “passing before her eyes,” as she contemplates her possible death at the hands of her abductor?
5. How does Sam’s work in the pharmaceutical industry come to play a role in Claire’s conversations with her abductor? To what extent do you believe that Sam is complicit in the deaths of Mexican workers? Why might Claire be unwilling to ask her husband the hard questions that she asks in her everyday work as a journalist?
6. “It takes all the strength I have not to call out to Him, to say what I think: Don’t leave me.” How does Claire’s relationship with her abductor evolve over the course of the novel? To what extent does Claire fear her abductor by the end of her confinement? How does her relationship with her abductor compare to her relationship with her husband, Sam?
7. After she is found by the police, why does Claire drive back to Room 7 of the Mid-County Motor Inn? How does her gesture betray her training as an investigative journalist, and what does it suggest about her medical condition, post-abduction?
8. What role do secrets play in Standing Still? How does the secret of Claire’s past life with David and Jesse haunt this novel? How do the secrets behind Sam’s job affect his family? To what extent did these additional levels of secrecy add to your interest in the mystery behind Claire’s experience?