Missing

This uninspired crime novel from Hawken (Tequila Sunset) hits the right notes but falls short of the standard set by his earlier books, all of which take place along the Texas-Mexico border. Jack Searle, a middle-aged widower, does his best to raise his two half-Mexican teenage daughters on what small-time contracting and handyman gigs he can get around Laredo, Tex. He%E2%80%99s careful to maintain his daughters%E2%80%99 connection to their Mexican side of the family and makes regular visits with them across the border. When his older daughter, Marina, disappears with her cousin at a concert in Nuevo Laredo, Searle finds himself drawn into the city%E2%80%99s complex and violent underbelly. As the weeks pass with no word from the ineffectual local police, an increasingly desperate Searle decides to take matters into his own hands. While Hawken knows the border country well and writes convincingly about its sociopolitical aspects, stock characters and situations give this effort a paint-by-the-numbers feel. Agent: Svetlana Pironko, Author Rights Agency. (May)