“The Last Child,” by John Hart

                I’m wandering around the book store looking for a book for my book club and an energetic older gentleman zeros in on me and wants to know if I need any help.  “No thanks, I love looking for books,”  I said.  The gentleman ignored my brush-off, and proceeded telling me about this “amazing” book he has just finished.  Realizing his need to share his adventure with his latest novel, I turned and faced him intrigued  to learn a little more.  He told me he just finished reading “The Last Child,” by John Hart.  He excitedly rushed in that the reviewers are comparing it to “To Kill a Mockingbird.”   For the next  15 minutes  I listened to his excitement about the book.   Finally, I told him I would definitely check it out, that his enthusiasm had won me over.

                What a recommendation – I bought the book, I read it , I selected it for book club, and I loved it.  I couldn’t put the book down – read it in two days.   Thrilling mystery and believable!  John Hart has created this powerful  13-year-old character named Johnny.  His twin sister, Alyssa, was abducted a year before.  His father left town, and his mother has spiraled down into drugs and alcohol and taken up with a rich, awful man.   Johnny is left trying to hold on to the scraps of what’s left of his world, while desperately trying to find his sister.

                Detective Clyde Hunt is also trying to hold onto the scraps of his life since the Alyssa Merrimon abduction.  As lead detective in the abduction case, he has spent too many hours on the case and not enough with his family.  His wife has left him and his teenage son doesn’t want anything much to do with him.  

                As Johnny continues to look for his sister, Hunt tries to keep Johnny out-of-trouble and keep tabs on his mother, Katherine, who has taken up with Ken Holloway, an old boyfriend she rejected in high school.  Holloway is now rich, arrogant and evil.  Hunt is drawn to this tragic family and feels the need to help them.

                The story takes a lot of twists and turns while Johnny tries to find his sister.  Johnny literally runs into a man named Levi.  Levi is a simple person who has been severely harmed by evil, very similar to Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”   

                I think book clubs would enjoy this thrill-paced mystery.   There is plenty of human interactions to discuss, along with parental and child standards and or societal beliefs.

                I did guess the who, but I didn’t guess the what – so bravo to Mr. Hart for creating a fine mystery.

Rating:  8.9