Torn: Chris Jordan

[Karen Redlich]

Try if you like: Hollie Overton, Kerry Greenwood, James Patterson, Lee Child

Ten-year old Noah Corbin is in school assembly when a man dressed as a clown appears in front of the children and detonates a bomb that destroys the gymnasium. Luckily, all the children are accounted for- but Noah has vanished. His desperate mother, Haley, hires missing child expert Randall Shane to investigate. The Forensics squad claim to have found traces of Noah's body in the blast zone, but Haley is convinced that someone has taken her child.

This was a very suspenseful and intriguing book that takes you from the suburbs of South-West America to the hiding places of the rich and famous. The characters are likeable and very believable, including the precocious Noah. Haley is the narrator, and has a quaint and funny manner which makes the tone of the book warm and appealing.