First Impression

Detective Jackie Kaminsky leads a cast of finely drawn characters in this spellbinding story by the author of Tangled Lives. When three-year-old Michael Panesivic is abducted from a Spokane mall toy store, Jackie is assigned to the case. Since statistics show that children are rarely abducted by strangers, the obvious place for her to start the investigation is within Michael's family. Oddly enough, Michael's divorced parents, his aunts, uncles, and both sets of grandparents don't appear particularly distraught over his disappearance. As Jackie methodically questions each of the boy's relatives, instinct tells her the key to the abduction lies somewhere within the two families. The plot is complicated by the appearance of Paul Arnussen, a handsome carpenter with eerily detailed visions of the boy's whereabouts. Arnussen is the one flaw in the story, as he doesn't seem organic to the plot but rather tossed in to serve as Jackie's romantic interest. But this is a minor failing in what is, overall, an engrossing read. (Apr.)