FictionZeal

This is a very intriguing story of child abduction.  But, it’s complex and so much more than just about the abduction.  Nancy Hardman goes to the gym leaving her four-year-old daughter, Beth, with Tiggi, their nanny.  She uses the same locker each time she goes.  Only this time, someone had left a note for her.  It read, in part, “It will take you 18 minutes to get home.  If you drive fast.  Shame.  You’re already 18 minutes late.”  They also specified she does not contact the police, but “DO tell your husband.”  She rushes home to find both Tiggi and Beth gone.  She’s in a panic.  Then, she remembers her husband, Michael, had given her instructions to call a specific number and mention a code if he was not home and there was an emergency.  Shortly after she calls, two agents come to her door from Cruxys Solutions.  They are Ruth Gonzales and Andy Vaslik.

I had many questions about Nancy as I read this novel.  At first, I thought she was one of those characters that readers refer to as tstl (too stupid to live).  But, keep reading.  I still didn’t quite understand the family money situation.  Nancy works part-time as a bookkeeper; it was suggested that Michael, as a charity field worker, didn’t monetarily support the family, yet one would think she’d need more than just her income to run their home.  I didn’t feel that the initial investigation focused enough on the money matters, especially in light of how expensive it is to keep an organization like Cruxys Solutions on stand-by.  I enjoyed the characters of Ruth and Andy.  They were both well-developed and had backgrounds which supported how skillfully they handled their jobs.  Rating: 3 out of 5.