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MISSING PERSONS is not the typical murder mystery or average plotted psychological suspense novel. It is a novel of layers that involve lots of little pieces and details. It begins with the death of Hannah Grant, a colleague of Alan Gregory and Diane Estevez. When they discover the body, they think the worst has happened. Who and why would this occur? Meanwhile, one of Alan's patients, Bob Brandt, who has a deep seated psychosis, starts following Alan around. It seems he knows something about the disappearance of Mallory Miller, a teenager afraid of something dire happening to her. When Bob disappears, he leaves Alan a manuscript which contains clues as to what happened on Christmas Eve. As the pieces fall into place, blackmail seems to be crime of choice, as Mallory's father Bill is being blackmailed by a Doyle Chandler, the next-door neighbor. Doyle had built a hidden tunnel into the Miller's house, so he could sneak in, learn all the family secrets, then assume a new identity, because Doyle Chandler isn't this person's real persona, but a disguise. When Diane goes to Las Vegas to look into the disappearance of Mallory's mother, she gets kidnapped and taken away to a mountain cabin. No one can find her. Meanwhile, in Vegas, her husband Raoul, is meeting with Canada, a street lord who watches over Rachel to make sure no one takes advantage of her illness. Rachel is schizophrenic, and just has to attend every wedding available. The denouement is a disappointment, as all the crimes are tied up too neatly. The pace of the book seemed to drag through the middle, but then, when Bill is setting Alan up to be his alibi for a crime, Alan turns the tables on Bill. This is not one of the better entries in this series, but overall a nice long weekend read for those looking for something different.
Reviewed by Steven Sill, May 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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