Synopsis: Where is she? Jade Henderson is missing, taken from her cot in the night. Stella Parfitt watches the police investigation unfold and begins to ask her own questions. Where was her mother that night? The woods hold a dark secret...

Review: Stella is not sure sometimes whether she or her mother is the adult. When her mother arrives home drunk, late and soaked from an old boyfriend’s house, Stella is not impressed. When it is discovered that a toddler has disappeared that same night from a neighbour’s house, she cannot begin to imagine how it will dredge up the old secrets her mother has tried to forget.

The narrative switches between Stella in the present, and her mother, Terri, when she was a teenager. Stella had no idea that twenty years ago, another baby disappeared while she was in Terri’s care, but that Terri was eventually cleared from any wrong-doing. The story details how Terri dealt with the incident, the circumstances surrounding it and how she moved on with her life. Hounded by the press and questioned by the police, Terri has no choice but to tell Stella what happened to Lizzie Gilbert years before. Reeling from her mother’s revelations, Stella is further stunned when she discovers that her mother is still withholding the whole truth from her.

With the highly publicised disappearance of a toddler in Portugal in 2007 and, as a mother myself, I found this book quite difficult to read from an emotional point of view. However, it is well written, with sound descriptions and no unnecessary “tear-jerking” morbidity. The plot twists several times and the protagonist and narrative changes throughout, yet is still easy to follow and will keep fans of Anne Cassidy gripped. The prologue and epilogue are lovely touches which really complete the story. The book also addresses issues of social class and background and the relationships between mothers and their children, which might make it appropriate relevant reading for social studies students.

2007-12-30