This is the first book by J.Wallis Martin that I have read and believe that this book was shortlisted for some prestigious literary award. Now while I would not profess to be an expert in this particular genre, I felt it showed that she has potential but is not yet the finished product.

On the up side.The storyline ran at a lively pace making you want to turn over the next page to see what was coming up next, in fact it was easy to forget that only a month had passed from Gary's disappearance and the eventual conclusion of the story.There were some good atmospheric descriptions of the surroundings for the crime and the central characters were fairly well drawn. I also rather liked the prologue as it had me guessing quite where it fitted into the overall plot until quite near the end.

However, on the down side. For me the lead investigator Parker would probably have been better as a Private Investigator rather than a high-flying Policeman, he seemed to do everything himself with little feedback from the men around him. Something of a maverick rather than a leader of men. Also quite what the profiler Hanson added to the investiagion is open to some debate, he seemed to be more distracted by his own personal relationship hang-ups and had only minimal imput into actually solving the crime. In fact wanting to go and stay in his old matrimonial home rather than a hotel seemed rather freaky to me.Perhaps it was just fashionable to have his presence there?

In summary I felt that the story gave a somewhat original twist on both the mindset of paedophiles and in particular how they are able to target, befriend and ultimately betray vulnerable victims, boys in this case and also into why boys are taken in by them. It was a very readable book but it just lacking in that little something that would have made it a special read. As I said at the top the author shows promise and if this is just another step along the evolutionary trail then with more experience and in-depth knowledge she could become a very good one. ( )

Yikes...I didn't remember all these spoilers. Sorry.

All the boys who went missing worked at one time or other for the same person. That person was procuring boys for his former foster son. He tortured his foster son by locking him in a room until he granted the sexual favor that was demanded. When he obeyed, the foster father gave the kid (Roly) a finch. The finches became intertwined in his psychosis and he then began to do the same with the boys he abducted.

What I don’t understand is how 5 years could have gone by and as soon as a kid goes missing, everyone remembers every detail about the last time. It seems that similar evidence presented itself the last time but was not followed up on and the crime went unsolved.

The bodies on the scaffolds in the woods were pretty creepy. I wish that the author could have followed up more on the ones that were found before Joseph Coyne’s abduction; the ones that were found by a local building firm and quietly disposed of. The workmen who found them were convinced by the lie that they were nothing but a prank and not real.

The psychologist was a real mess. Couldn’t let go of his former wife’s infidelity and ruining of their marriage. I mean; get a grip. The woman cheated and you broke up. Not the first time it happened. He makes his girlfriend miserable with his obsession. What a weakling. ( )

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