Missing Max: A Novel
Novelist Young (Blood Bayou) continues her romantic suspense specialty in her second book for an evangelical Christian imprint. The book loses no time in setting up its central and painful premise: six-month-old baby Max is kidnapped during the chaos of a New Orleans Mardi Gras. Mom Jane, dad Kyle, and teen stepsister Melanie must deal with the heart-wrenching, guilt-burdened aftermath, and they don't do it well. The crime element of the plot waits in the wings as the dysfunctional family drama plays out with a twist. Young doesn't begin weaving the villain into the action until fairly late in the book, leaving the narrative a little unbalanced as it shifts gears from domestic drama to crime suspense. The central relationship of Jane and Kyle is tense and emotionally credible; less credible is the volatile teenager Melanie, who makes a number of pivotal choices throughout the story. The faith elements are neither intrusive nor formulaic, and Young's dialogue characteristically crackles. Though this is not as strong as her previous outing, Young will continue to please her many readers.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.