The Vanishing of Katharina Linden / Helen Grant 287 p.

I picked this up on Annie's glowing recommendation and never regretted it. An almost contemporary story set in the Black Forest area of Germany, and told from the point of view of eleven year old Pia. Children are beginning to disappear in her small, snug town, with no explanation and no bodies. Pia is fascinated and terrified, and her imagination is stoked by the many legends and monster tales for which the Black Forest is so well known and which permeate the narrative.

The remarkable (or surprising!) thing is the way Grant perfectly represents a child's mind while still telling an entirely adult story. Suspenseful and frightening, with more than a few surprise twists.

n.b. The author has the story narrated 20 years after the events have taken place, putting the story firmly in the pre-cell phone era. Certain elements of the plot would have been fairly implausible in today's era of instant communication. I wonder if we will be seeing more of these plot gymnastics, at least for stories of disappearance and kidnapping.