Lost - Hardcover

The author has done a good job with his first novel, a thriller that begins as 6-year-old Mamie sees her adored 11-year-old brother, Sherman, fire a bullet into his brain. Amazingly, Sherman survives, but Mamie's relief turns to puzzlement at the peculiar glint in his eyes. He sets fire to their home, leaving Mamie orphaned and in the hospital, but his plans to "rescue" his sister and keep her all to himself are thwarted when a compassionate woman attempts unsuccessfully to adopt Mamie and finally kidnaps her from the hospital seconds before Sherman himself comes to take her away. Thus begins a murderous cross-country pursuit in which Sherman and his vicious mongrel, the Chinaman, terrorize the bewildered woman and three children who eventually accompany her. Although several points are never satisfactorily explained, Lost is nevertheless a suspenseful, frightening tale.A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington, D.C.