cover image Missing Person

Missing Person

Sally Pfoutz, Sara Pfoutz. Viking Children's Books, $14.99 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-670-84663-4

The only clue to Mrs. Hightower's sudden disappearance is the note she left, saying she was going to the movies. Twenty-four hours later, she still has not returned home, yet only her 17-year-old daughter, Carrie, suspects foul play. As this thriller unfurls, Carrie's mother's background is sketched thinly, leaving readers to wonder if the missing person (apparently an alcoholic) is indeed so disturbed as to abandon her family without explanation. Carrie's single-handed efforts to solve the mystery will keep readers turning the pages, but the series of grisly events which leads to the capture of a psychotic kidnapper is reminiscent of a grade-B horror flick. Of the cast, Carrie and her 11-year-old neighbor, Allen, seem the most believable; their concern and grief contrast sharply with the almost blase attitudes of Carrie's father, her picture-perfect boyfriend, her older sister and the detective in charge of the case. Ultimately, this first novel proves more effective in building suspense than in delivering memorable characters and a sturdy plot. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)