The tension mounts from the very first pages when little Emily Lookinland is nabbed from the park the second her mother turns her back – and the pressure doesn’t let up until the very last page is turned. Masterfully executed, the pulsating suspense and intense pacing derive not from any overt violence but from the psychologically riveting relationship that forms between Emily and her captor – and the dreaded anticipation of what will happen next. Jessie Hunter expertly unfolds this taut drama, taking us inside the mind of the terrified, resourceful, and imaginative little girl, and also inside the mind of the bizarrely off-balance killer who is one minute a frightful monster and the next a confused, childlike, even pitiable figure. To add to the tension, we witness firsthand the terrifying, painful ordeal Emily’s mother experiences from the moment her daughter is stolen away, and each agonizing second she is kept from her.