The Lost Sister-Russel D. McLean

The Lost Sister
Russel D. McLean
Minotaur, Mar 15 2011, $24.99
ISBN 9780312576820

In Dundee, Scotland, fourteen year old Mary Furst vanishes. The family believes time is short as Mary is a great student and promising artist who would never have just run away. Not expecting the overworked police to rescue the teen alive, former Dundee cop turned private investigator J. McNee is hired to find and save the child. He agrees with the assessment that the child was snatched takes on the case; he barely conceals his ire and if he can get his hands on the culprit with no cops around the predator will regret abducting a kid.

McNee is not hampered by the restrictions placed on the cops as he follows leads. He wonders if Mary’s criminal Godfather is the cause as an enemy could be behind the abduction. He finds that the child’s mom is uncooperative so he bullies her trying to get her to tell him what she fearfully but obviously hides. Ignoring legal boundaries while working closely with Constable Susan Bright, McNee fears time has run out on Mary who he thinks is probably dead.

The second McNee raging out of control investigation is a super thriller as the hero’s anger management issues remain a critical part of him, but provides insight into the causes of his emotional problems; something the exciting The Good Son lacked. Ironically the story line is fast-paced from the moment McNee does the favor, but in the protagonist’s mind his pace is too slow. Readers will appreciate the traumatized hero who is apt to lead with his fists and ask questions later.

Harriet Klausner