by John Hart
First published 2009
Johnny Merrimon once lived in a warm home with loving parents and his twin sister Alyssa. That ended the day Alyssa disappeared from a lonely street. A year later, everyone believes she is dead. Everyone except Johnny. The thirteen-year-old boy knows his sister lives, though he cannot explain how he knows. His parents have given up. The police have moved on. Johnny searches alone through the dark corners of his hometown. Detective Clyde Hunt still looks for Alyssa too. He watches over Johnny and tries to protect him. When Johnny finds a dangerous lead, Hunt tries to stop him. Then another child vanishes. Johnny ignores Hunt's warnings and his mother's tears. He takes his last friend into the wilderness to a place marked by a century of violence. There they meet an escaped convict on his own desperate mission. What the giant tells them destroys everything Johnny believed about his sister's fate. The truth will push both boys beyond their limits.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hometown
Period: 1 Year After Disappearance
373 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books