Edge of Your Seat

Title: The Last Child by John Hart
Publisher Minotaur Books
417 pages

Summary: (from publishers weekly) A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger.

Review: I loved this book.  Its a quick read but keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are so many elements to the mystery that it just keeps you guessing and wanting to find out what happens but not wanting the book to end.  I love the main character.  The smart, brave and self reliant Johnny.  His dogged determination to find his sister and repair his family is heartbreaking and beautiful.  All the characters are so real and you can almost feel them breathing through the pages.  I can't say enough about this book so I'll stop...go out, buy it, pick it up from the library whatever but get this book!

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