Product Description

In this affecting crime novel from Edgar-winner Cook (The Chatham School Affair), Eric Moore, a prosperous businessman, watches his safe, solid world disintegrate. When eight-year-old Amy Giordano, whom Eric's teenage son, Keith, was babysitting, disappears from her family's house, many believe Keith is an obvious suspect, and not even his parents are completely convinced that he wasn't somehow involved. As time passes without Amy being found, a corrosive suspicion seeps into every aspect of Eric's life. That suspicion is fed by Eric's shaky family history - a father whose failed plans led from moderate wealth to near penury, an alcoholic older brother who's never amounted to much, a younger sister fatally stricken with a brain tumour and a mother driven to suicide. Not even Eric's loving wife, Meredith, is immune from his doubts as he begins to examine and re-examine every aspect of his life. The ongoing police investigation and the anguish of the missing girl's father provide periodic goads as Eric's futile attempts to allay his own misgivings seem only to lead him into more desperate straits. The totally unexpected resolution is both shocking and perfectly apt.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73082 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Peter Straub
Thomas Cook writes like a wounded angel and Red Leaves is one of his masterworks...

Harlan Coben
"Red Leaves is one of the best novels you’ll read this year...

Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian
A splendid if painful destruction of the American dream by everyday evil...you won’t be able to put it down

Customer Reviews

Marvellous
What an excellent story. I've found a new author and will be buying lots more of his books.
Can't believe anybody could not appreciate this book

Insightful psychological novel
Red Leaves is the story of a family's response when suspicion falls on their awkward, loner, teenage son, following the disappearance of an eight year girl that he was babysitting for.

Both the subject matter and, in some respects the style of recounting the story in flashback, mean that comparisons with "We need to talk about Kevin" are inevitable.

They are different books, but if you like one, then I think you would probably like the other.

Thomas H Cook writes elegantly and insightfully, both the town and the characters are deftly sketched. I have to say I wolfed down this book, so I would certainly recommend it. My only criticism was that the ending was just a little too pat, but clearly other reviewers felt differently.

Desperately mediocre
I have to agree with the review who said this book tries too hard to be a psychological crime novel that raises questions, and ends up just being an OK whodunnit. The reviewers who are raving about this book must not have read any of the crime greats like Ian Rankin or even Harlan Coben. I picked it up in a sale and I barely cared enough about the story to get to the end.