From Publishers Weekly
Holland's ( A Death at St. Anselm's ) fans will be disappointed by the prosaic plot and one-dimensional characters in her latest suspense novel. Alcoholic Martha Tierney is awakened one morning by a phone call from her son's school: eight-year old Jonathan never reported to class. Every mother's nightmare becomes a reality for Martha, whose ordeal is exacerbated by her struggle to remain sober, and by the enraging presence of her ex-husband, Patrick, who wants custody of Jonathan. Although NYPD Det. Sgt. Pete Mooney discovers a link between a dead woman, a child pornography ring and the abduction, it is Jonathan who provides the big break in the case. While his street smarts and intelligence belie his age, his actions, under the perilous circumstances, could only occur in fiction. A predictable ending further mars this uninvolving,though competently written, mystery.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
When disintegrating divorcee Martha Tierney awakens from a drunken stupor one morning, she discovers that her eight-year-old son Jonathan has failed to arrive at his fancy private school in Brooklyn Heights. The ensuing kidnap-for-kiddie-porn crisis (the kiddie-porn part only peripheral) ensnares Martha in guilt, anxiety, withdrawal symptoms, and incipient self-awareness. Battling alcoholism becomes as important to the plot as locating Jonathan. Squeaky-clean material, with divorce side-effects, a naive-but-not-naive kid, an antiseptic murder, and an upbeat ending. REK
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
