She's Not There by Joy Fielding

This author is known for writing stories with familiar lines. However, she is also known for imbedding stories with unusual plot twists and her latest entry is no exception. While the story harkens to a real occurrence in Portugal several years ago, that fact does not take anything away from this rendition.

Hunter and Caroline are on a family vacation in Mexico. They are celebrating a wedding anniversary and have invited friends and family to join them. The night of the celebratory dinner, the babysitter fails to show up and a change of plans has to be considered. Caroline suggests that everyone come to their room and partake in room service. Hunter decides to continue to have the dinner in the restaurant and he and Caroline will check on the children every 1/2 hour. Everything seems okay until Caroline makes another check on the girls and the baby has disappeared. The FBI and local police are called in, staff and family members are interrogated but the child is not found.

The design of the novel is such that the author has chapters dealing with the present, five years earlier (when Caroline is hoodwinked) and fifteen years earlier (when the child was abducted). While I do not necessarily applaud this technique, it is well-structered here and lends itself to a better understanding of the story. The author presents several clues along the way but the total diabolical plot is not revealed until the end of the story.

Well done. Good read!

Ladybookbug!