From Publishers Weekly
In this adroit thriller by the author of A Vow of Silence , single mother Joy Prentice fears that her three-year-old daughter, Sally, kidnapped from the London restaurant where Joy works, has been murdered. The police investigation gets nowhere until Joy begins receiving notes from the kidnapper--whom police experts believe to be a deeply disturbed man--implying that Sally is still alive, but not for long. Although there are no official suspects, Joy believes one of two men has abducted the child: either Sally's father or a mysterious stranger who recently tried to befriend the young mother. Then when the kidnapper reveals his demented intentions, Joy must outthink the police and outwit her daughter's captor. With a flair for detail Black tells a tale as riveting as a tabloid headline. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Joy Prentice, abandoned by her lover when she was pregnant, is determined to do the best job she can as a single parent. Then three-year-old Sally vanishes from her bed in the back of the restaurant where Joy works, leaving the young woman frantic and at a loss as to why such a thing should happen. Aided by police and Rory Baird, a recent acquaintance for whom Joy is developing romantic feelings, she pursues a series of vague clues which eventually lead to the kidnapper's identity and Sally's recovery. This is adequately done but lacks the compelling power necessary for a true thriller. Not a necessary acquisition.-Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
"The production stands on its own merits and is exceedingly well done." J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
"Morse is a thoroughly convincing detective, and a very humane one, too."

--The New York Times Book Review

Valerie Taylor has been missing since she was a sexy seventeen, more than two years ago. Inspector Morse is sure she's dead. But if she is, who forged the letter to her parents saying "I am alright so don't worry"? Never has a woman provided Morse with such a challenge, for each time the pieces of the jigsaw start falling into place, someone scatters them again. So Valerie remains as tantalizingly elusive as ever. Morse prefers a body--a body dead from unnatural causes. And very soon he gets

one. . . .

"You don't really know Morse until you've read him. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS Mystery! anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter's novels."

--Chicago Sun-Times

"Fascinating . . . Very satisfying."

--Book Sellers

From the Inside Flap
"Morse is a thoroughly convincing detective, and a very humane one, too."

--The New York Times Book Review



Valerie Taylor has been missing since she was a sexy seventeen, more than two years ago. Inspector Morse is sure she's dead. But if she is, who forged the letter to her parents saying "I am alright so don't worry"? Never has a woman provided Morse with such a challenge, for each time the pieces of the jigsaw start falling into place, someone scatters them again. So Valerie remains as tantalizingly elusive as ever. Morse prefers a body--a body dead from unnatural causes. And very soon he gets

one. . . .



"You don't really know Morse until you've read him. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS Mystery! anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter's novels."

--Chicago Sun-Times



"Fascinating . . . Very satisfying."

--Book Sellers

ANNOTATION

Despite exhaustive inquiries two years ago, when a 17-year-old pupil at a school near Oxford disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the force uncovered nothing. But now a body has turned up, giving Morse cause to reopen the case. Dexter's intriguing Inspector Morse mysteries are shown regularly on the A&E Mysteries series.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Valerie Taylor has been missing since she was a sexy seventeen, more than two years ago. Inspector Morse is sure she's dead. But if she is, who forged the letter to her parents saying "I am alright so don't worry"? Never has a woman provided Morse with such a challenge, for each time the pieces of the jigsaw start falling into place, someone scatters them again. So Valerie remains as tantalizingly elusive as ever. Morse prefers a body—a body dead from unnatural causes. And very soon he gets one. . . .

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile - Jocelyn Pollard