October 21, 2019
Gabe Forman, the protagonist of this nightmarish novel from Thriller Award–winner Tudor (The Hiding Place), is running late for dinner when he spies his five-year-old daughter, Izzy, in the window of a stranger’s car. He gives chase, but loses the vehicle in traffic. When he calls home, police inform him that an intruder shot and killed both Izzy and his wife. Though his father-in-law positively identifies the bodies, Gabe knows what he saw, and he abandons everything to travel England’s M1 motorway in search of Izzy. Three years later, Gabe discovers the abductor’s abandoned car, which contains clues pointing to a dark web group that helps wronged parties find justice. But why target Gabe’s family—and where is Izzy? Tudor intersperses Gabe’s hunt with scenes spotlighting a woman named Fern and seven-year-old Alice, who have spent three years on the run. Realistic characters fueled by genuine emotion carry the tale to a pat yet pleasing conclusion, though the central mystery relies too heavily on coincidence, and a supernatural subplot involving Alice’s mirror-induced narcolepsy feels half-baked. Hopefully, Tudor’s next book will be a return to form. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary (U.K.).