Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A Stranger in the Family / Robert Barnard

A Stranger in the Family by Robert Barnard 249 p.

Taking place in 2009, Barnard's latest novel begins with Kit Philipson's reunion with his birth parents and siblings he hasn't seen since being abducted on a family vacation back in 1989 at the age of three years old. He knows something isn't quite right about the way he fits into the family unit, and he has only recently discovered that he ended up with his adoptive family following this childhood abduction - something that to him is only a vague, foggy memory by now. As he pieces together random information Kit knows there is much more to learn about his abduction, and only after investigating three generations of his family(s) across Europe back as far as the first World War will he be able to tell his story.

I've never really gotten into mystery, but I figured I'd try my luck with this book. I wouldn't call it a "novel of suspense" as the cover indicates, but it did keep my interest. I really like Kit's perception of the characters around him as well as the way Barnard shares the small details of conversations between characters, although they seemed a bit contrived at times. In real life, do people really read this deeply into each and every conversation? I guess when they're are hiding things they do...

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