Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Vanished Child by Sarah Smith ISBN: 0345381645 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 1995 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.27
Rating: 4
Summary: I could read anything by this author; this is a favorite!
Comment: This is the book that compelled me to buy every single one of the other books I could find by the author - her writing is simply that good and the characters she creates are vivid and compelling.
In The Vanished Child, the reader is immediately submerged into a decades old mystery, centering on Alexander Von Reisden, a man with alarming gaps in his memory and virtually no recollection of his childhood.
One day, a chance meeting with a stranger raises even more questions about himself and his past. Could he possibly be Richard Knight, a missing heir who was kidnapped as a child and who stands to inherit a fortune from the surviving members of his family? Or is he simply someone who coincidentally resembles the Knight family, leading some of them to believe (or hope) that he could be the missing Richard?
Author Sarah Smith weaves her tale with haunting intensity and detail, keeping me reading till nearly morning. I paid the price the next day but it was worth it.
Rating: 5
Summary: a psychological suspense thriller not to be missed
Comment: Never have I read a book and lingered over it as I did The Vanished Child. A wonderfully, lyrical book that captures the reader's imagination from the opening pages and holds it through and past the last pages. I read the sequel, The Knowledge of Water, almost immediately because Reisden and Perdita haunted me so. The story begins with a man, a scientist by profession and a Baron by lineage, who is adrift and uncentered years after the death of his young wife. A death for which he feels entirely responsible. Juxtaposed with his story to find himself again is the story of literally finding one man's identity. The mystery is that he may be the heir to an American fortune. The heir disappeared immediately after presumably witnessing the brutal murder of his guardian grandfather. Who killed the grandfather and why? What happened to the child? Why does the Baron have no memories of his earliest childhood years? A taut, psychological suspense mystery unfolds as the Baron ! relunctantly agrees to "help" solve the mystery but is unable to remain as detached and clinical as he would like. The story is a mystery, a romance and a thriller that is both haunting and illuminating. The author has promised a trilogy and I cannot wait for the third installment. Read The Vanished Child and The Knowledge of Water--you will not regret it.
Rating: 3
Summary: Beautifully written but disappointing
Comment: Call me shallow if you wish, but when I read a mystery novel, I want the story's loose ends to be neatly tied up when I reach the final page. I want to know whodunit and why. If you feel the same way, this book, although it is beautifully written, is sure to disappoint you. The author doesn't provide answers to any of the puzzles she sets forth. How did the boy disappear in broad daylight? Did he run away or was he kidnapped? Is Reisden really the missing heir? How could a young boy get from Boston to Africa and then on to Europe? Who hid Jay's body and why? Will Perdita return to Harry? Will Reisden and Perdita end up together? Will Harry and Efnie marry? Will sad, gentle Gilbert end his days alone? The book is compelling, and will leave you longing for a neat resolution, but the author doesn't provide it. It seems as though she ran out of steam -- instead of solving the mysteries she raises, the book simply ends with a weak and inconclusive "Epilogue." While the Vanished Child is compelling reading (I simply couldn't put it down), as I closed the covers, the lack of a real conclusion made me feel duped.
 |
Title: The Knowledge of Water by Sarah Smith ISBN: 0345439465 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: A Citizen of the Country (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Sarah Smith ISBN: 0345433033 Publisher: Ballantine Books (Trd Pap) Pub. Date: 26 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: Chasing Shakespeares : A Novel by Sarah Smith ISBN: 0743464826 Publisher: Atria Books Pub. Date: 17 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
 |
Title: Deadly Nightshade: A Martha Vineyard Mystery by Cynthia Riggs ISBN: 0451208161 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Styx and Stones by Carola Dunn ISBN: 157566755X Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp (Mass Market) Pub. Date: 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
