Stolen in the Night

Ann Marie Lee's sensible tones are perfect for the character of Tess DeGraff as she struggles to keep the horrors of her childhood in perspective. A DNA test of the man executed for her sister's murder has proven his innocence. Tess, who was the witness in the case, returns to the once bucolic, now simmering New Hampshire town where the murder took place, determined to resolve her questions about what really happened. Lee's New Hampshire accents are impressive--but too much the same, from the sister-in-law to the sheriff. She does an excellent job at turning the villain's tones from charming to scary. As suspense builds and Tess's own son is kidnapped, Lee delivers a skillful performance. D.P.D. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

July 30, 2007
A child abduction with elements of the Elizabeth Smart case triggers this pallid romantic suspense novel from Edgar-finalist MacDonald (The Unforgiven
). When she was nine, Tess DeGraff witnessed the knifepoint kidnapping of her teenage sister, Phoebe, by a wild-eyed man with a ponytail who warned her that breaking her silence would lead to her sister's death. Phoebe's abused corpse was found shortly afterward, and a local sex offender, Lazarus Abbott, was executed after Tess described the abductor and pointed to him in court. Two decades later, DNA evidence exonerates Abbott, and Tess becomes vilified in Abbott's New Hampshire home town, leading her to some awkward amateur sleuthing to uncover the truth. Her implausible relationship with Ben Ramsey, the attorney representing the Abbott family, fails to distract readers from identifying Phoebe's real killer, hidden by only a scant handful of red herrings.