Lullaby

November 30, 2009
British journalist Seeber begins her debut, an overlong thriller, with a reasonable scenario—an abducted baby, a distraught mother, and a husband under a slight cloud of suspicion. Add a sexy French nanny, a beautiful but cold ex-wife, a kid brother with a serious drug problem, and you've got a raft of possible kidnappers. As the plot develops, every possible suspect has a moment in the spotlight, if without much increase in suspense. Throughout the investigation, a policewoman known only as Deb watches over the mother, Jessica Finnegan, day and night. Some readers may find it hard to believe that the London police would assign one of its members to be a full-time bodyguard, who, presumably at taxpayer's expense, makes Jessica tea and runs errands with her as well. On the other hand, smooth prose, well-rendered London settings, and a satisfying resolution will leave many eager to see more from Seeber.

December 15, 2009
A family outing to a museum takes a horrific turn when Jess Finnegans husband and her eight-month-old son disappear. The husband turns up eventually, beaten into unconsciousness by unknown assailants, but there is no sign of their little boy. As the police try to find out what happened to her baby, Jess begins to realize that the key to the mystery might lie a lot closer to home than she realized. Fans of family-based psychological thrillersthose written by, say, Linwood Barclay or Lisa Gardnerwill find this debut thriller very much to their liking. The story is complex enough to keep us guessing but not so complex that it gives us a headache, and the conclusion is both surprising and completely plausible. The authors straightforward, unadorned prose perfectly matches the tone of the piece. A fine first novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)