A parent's worst nightmare: Part 2

John Hart's suspense novel, The Last Child, is a book for which readers need to be prepared: not by brushing up on historic events, not by reading prequels, but to psychologically be immersed in a dirty, squalid, evil world of missing children, drugs, alcohol, and abuse. Also, be prepared to set aside a few hours to become lost in the storyline.

The Last Child centres around 13 year old Johnny Merrimon, one year after the disappearance of his twin sister Alyssa. During that year, the Merrimon family went from middle class, happy, secure and loving to broken, poverty stricken, and distraught. Johnny's mum, Katherine, blames her husband for not fulfilling his promise to pick Alyssa up from the library, and guilt causes him to quickly leave his remaining family. Meanwhile, Katherine moves herself and Johnny into the slums of town, and only gets through the day by taking a wild assortment of pills, supplied by the town's richest citizen and her husband's former boss, Ken Holloway, who also physically abuses her.

Johnny's only friend, Jack, has his own issues: his arm is deformed from a childhood accident, his brother is a bully about to embark on a promising sports career, his father, a police detective, only has eyes for the older son, and Jack's mother, a fervently religious woman, prays for her youngest, who has taken to skipping school and numbing his emotional pain through alcohol. He is the only witness to Alyssa's abduction as she was pulled into a white van. Jack also is the only one to support Johnny in his obsession to find Alyssa, which leads them into incredibly dangerous situations tracking the scummiest characters in the area: child molesters.

Hart's book is not an easy read; it is cluttered and complicated, with many twists and turn, some which appear too coincidental to be conceivable. There's almost too much tragedy to make it believable, but it does show that 'ordinary' people can have their lives turned around quickly. It is difficult to read not only because of the disappearance of Alyssa, but the various family dynamics. Not only are Johnny's and Jack's families messed up, the lead detective in the case, Clyde Hunt, has lost his wife and is losing his only son because of his compulsion to solve Alyssa's disappearance. Throw in convict Levi Freemantle, with his own slew of problems, and you have some of the sorriest group of people you'll ever meet in literature.

Despite these 'flaws,' the book is compelling and difficult to put down. I may not have liked any of the characters, but I wanted to know the outcome. Hart manages to make the book's climax even more of a page turner by shortening his last few chapters, increasing tension and quickening the pace of the action.

I've read several books about missing children, some with 'happy' resolutions, some sad, and some with no resolution at all. The Last Child lacks the emotion and fullness of characterisation of some of the others, but it is a satisfying thriller that will keep you up late into the night.

Glad I gave in!

It's a story that is all too prevalent in society: the sudden and total disappearance of an individual. We hear, read and see stories in the news, of the missing person, the search parties, the neighborhood coming together in support, the person found, sometimes alive, sadly, more often not, and sometimes gone forever. Time passes, the story fades away, another is unfortunately always ready to takes its place, and people forget that those close to the missing person still must continue to exist without their loved one.

Because of these disturbing real life stories, I admit, for years I have been reluctant to read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. For the few people unfamiliar with this modern classic novel, the plot focuses on Suzie Salmon ("like the fish"), who is brutally murdered by a neighbor at the age of fourteen. However, unlike in the media, her personal story does not end there: the book is told in first person narrative by Suzie herself. She watches the members of her family (parents, younger siblings and grandmother) and her friends cope with her disappearance, through the initial shock, their suspicions, and their ability, or disability, to let go and move on. We see them break apart from one another, and within themselves, trying to heal in their own ways. Some reach out for help, while others find solitude easier, even if it means hurting other survivors.

What struck me about The Lovely Bones is how Sebold manages to write such a heartbreaking story and infuse it with hope, perseverance and, yes, even some levity. Suzie's grandmother Lynn, an impeccably dressed, alcohol dependent, tell-it-like-it-is woman, particularly adds lightness, despite her harsh manner and words, as does Ruth, the schoolmate who swears she saw Suzie's ghost near where she was murdered.

The film version of The Lovely Bones is due out early next year. I don't know how the book will transfer to film, how Suzie's version of heaven will be achieved, but hopefully it will do this wonderful book justice.

A parent's worst nightmare

Photographer Abby Mason has it all: a growing career, a loving fiance, Jake, and a wonderful relationship with six-year-old Emma, her future stepdaughter, all in beautiful San Fransisco. But a few seconds of inattention on a foggy beach causes her to lose it all. Emma disappears without a trace. Author Michelle Richmond follows Abby through a year of self torture for her mistake: is Emma alive or dead? Is she suffering? Does Abby still deserve Jake's love? How can she go back to work and try to live a normal life when no questions have been answered? How can she reach into her memory to find a clue to Emma's disappearance?

This is a heartbreaking story of a woman wracked with guilt, terror and regret for a simple act thousands of caregivers do every day: simply look away from a child for a short period of time. It echoes themes in titles such as Ian McEwan's The Child in Time, Red Leaves by Thomas Cook, Beth Gutcheon's Still Missing, and Angels Crest by Lesley Schwartz.

Not a happy subject, but worth the read.