Friday, June 10, 2016

Little Girl Gone: An Afton Tangler Thriller by Gerry Schmitt

She and her husband go to a gala event in the city.  When they return, they find the babysitter hogtied and injured.  Their baby is missing...

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published July 5th.

This is a creepy story with a mother/son team who make their money by selling babies.  He's a bit slow, does taxidermy on the side, and he has a pregnant girlfriend.  His mother concentrates on controlling and directing him and he does what he's told.  Even when he's told to kill someone.

The mother only wants to sell a few more babies and then she'll move to a state that gives away disability checks easily and will take it easy.  She may even leave her son behind.  What she doesn't plan on is having a very determined cop liaison who is a mother coming after her.  They've never been caught before.  She doesn't think it can happen now.

There's a lot of trauma here.  The mother who has lost her child finds out that her husband is having an affair, and loses her marriage, too.  She hates everyone and despairs about anyone finding her child.  The father attempts to pay a ransom and it was a fake call but he loses two million dollars.  While all this is going on, Afton keeps going over the statements and records and keeps coming up with new ideas for where to search.  She's not really a cop but she would like to be.

As things come to a head at the end of story, Afton is in great danger, the weather is working against them, and the mother and son are after her.  It's real hairy for a while when Afton is trying to stay alive and it gets weirder before the end.  Afton is a tough broad and I like her. 

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