Candy from a Stranger by Daryl Buckner

Every day, probably every hour, another child goes missing from their home or neighborhood.  You see Amber Alerts come through quite often.  What if that missing child was yours?  What would you do?

Sparkling Books Limited and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It is being published June 29th, so watch for a copy then.

The story begins with the father's grief.  His son has been kidnapped.  There's no request for ransom, no one saw anything, the cops have no idea where he is.  No one knows if he's alive or dead and it's been almost a year.  Now the cops won't even listen to Ben.  They think he's obsessed and aren't sure he's even sane anymore.  He's lost his wife because he won't let go.  But he's not done with his hunt...

You watch him go through his thought process and continue his search.  Since he's trying to find the killer and the cops see him in the locations other kidnappings take place, they begin to wonder if he's the one snatching the boys.  In the meantime, Ben is having nightmares about the day his son disappeared.  He's gaunt, bearded and tense with concern.  People are beginning to look weird at him.

He finds a common denominator.  The other missing boys look a lot like his son.  It seems the killer chooses a particular type.

As all this goes along, you read the killer's thoughts and realize the man is a real psychopath.  I wasn't sure if it was another person or another facet of Ben's personality.

The ending is gripping and forceful.  It's also shocking.  Mr. Buckner kept me glued to the story and anxious to see how ended.  The last few pages of the book are chilling.  It appears this evil still lives on.  I wonder if there will be another book in this series?  Another thought:  This is more horror story than police procedural.  I won't forget I read it.