Long Lost

April 1, 2002
Like Robert Ludlum, Morrell began his bestselling career with short, tough action yarns (First Blood; Testament), then moved into very long, very complex conspiracy thrillers (The Brotherhood of the Rose). This modestly exciting thriller is a return to his old laconic style, but what's missing is the original plotting that has marked so much of Morrell's fiction. The novel does boast a first-rate setup: narrator Brad Denning is on top of the world, with a great career as an architect, a wonderful wife, Kate, and son, Jason, 11—never mind the trauma that scarred his youth, when his 11-year-old younger brother, Petey, was kidnapped, never to be found. Now a "rough-looking" man shows up outside Brad's Denver office, claiming to be the long-lost Petey. Brad takes Petey, who's apparently become a hard-knock drifter, into his home. Days later, Petey pushes Brad off a cliff, leaving him for dead. Battered Brad claws his way home to find Petey gone, along with the presumably kidnapped Kate and Jason. The remainder of the novel details Brad's cross-country attempt to track them down. Morrell tosses in a major complication when it appears that Petey may not be Petey after all, but few readers will be surprised by the novel's conclusion. Along the way, there are several strong action sequences, particularly one in which Brad gets trapped in a dark, snake-infested cellar, but Morrell has written this sort of pitch-black action scene before. The novel is slick, but there's little in it that's unexpected. (May 8)Forecast:Morrell's brand-name status and Warner's marketing plans should ensure that this title's lack of freshness won't dampen its sales much.

April 15, 2002
The author of such suspense novels as Desperate Measures and Black Evening has written another winner. When Brad Denning was a boy, he had a younger brother named Petey. One day at a baseball game, Brad told Petey to get lost, and Petey rode away on his bike never to be seen again. Now Brad is married and has a son almost Petey's age, a constant reminder of his lingering guilt from Petey's disappearance. On a typical morning at the office, a man confronts Brad, claiming to be his long-lost brother and tells him things only Petey could know. Is this really Petey after all these years, or is it a ruthless con man with a hidden agenda? Morrell admirably conveys the terror of losing a family member to unexplained circumstances and maintains the suspense until the last page. For all fiction collections. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2002
Little Petey Denning disappeared nearly three decades ago after his older brother Brad shooed him away from a baseball game. Dad took to drink, lost his job, and died. Mom never regained her emotional or financial footing and passed her years as a bitter, lonely woman. Brad buried his grief and his guilt to build a life as a successful architect in Denver with his wife Kate and son Jason. And now Petey has come to Denver to reunite with his brother. Initially Brad doesn't believe it, but Petey knows things about their childhood that only he could know. Brad wants to make it up to his brother, but Petey, who was kidnapped and raised by religious fundamentalists, has other plans. On a camping trip, he pushes Brad off a cliff and kidnaps Kate and Jason. Brad survives the fall, but a year later, the FBI still hasn't found Jason, Kate, or Petey, who they believe is, in fact, a con man named Lester Dant. Brad, with the guidance of a retired FBI agent turned private eye, tosses aside what's left of his life to find his family. Morrell has always had the ability to put the reader right in the middle of the action, and he does it again here in riveting fashion. Scary, one-night reading with a sad, believable conclusion. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)