Lost Girl

Nevill (No One Gets Out Alive) isn’t at his best in this near-future revenge thriller; his writing is as sharp as ever, as he provides a grimly plausible recipe for an impending global apocalypse, but the central plot is familiar and becomes repetitive. In 2051, global warming has led to violent conflict and mass suffering. An Englishman identified only as “the father” is distracted at a crucial time; instead of keeping an eye on his four-year-old-daughter, Penny, who has been playing in their garden, he’s writing a salacious email to a woman who is not his wife, and while he’s looking away, Penny vanishes. Two years later, Penny is still unaccounted for. With Great Britain overrun by refugees and the authorities overwhelmed, the tragedy is lost in the huge volume of human misery, forcing the father to turn vigilante to find his daughter. The guilt-ridden lead is two-dimensional, and his constant grappling with how far he should go to get to the truth becomes static. Agent: John Jarrold, John Jarrold Literary (U.K.). (Nov.)