Product Description

The fourth in the bestselling series of psychological thrillers featuring Carson Ryder, the detective with a unique perspective on serial killers. Children are disappearing in Mobile, Alabama, the latest snatched from her own bedroom. There are no clues -- and, as yet, no bodies. Homicide Detective Carson Ryder is called in to investigate the abduction of little LaShelle Shearing only to find the case getting tangled up in murky departmental and civic politics. And with his partner Harry Nautilus fighting for his life after being viciously attacked, Carson is feeling increasingly isolated. Public rage is now reaching dangerous levels, and Ryder's bosses turn for help to ex-Detective Conner Sandhill whose uncanny ability to spot connections and details missed by others is legendary -- but who left the department under a cloud. Ryder and Sandhill form an uneasy alliance in the hunt for the missing children, a hunt which becomes all the more urgent for tragic personal reasons. But at the root of these disappearances is something truly evil! and its source is closer to home than either could have imagined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #333056 in Books
• Published on: 2010-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
Praise for Jack Kerley: 'Superb stuff.' Independent on Sunday 'Kerley will truly scare the pants off his readers. This one's another winner from a writer moving towards the top of the thriller heap.' Publishers Weekly 'Kerley, who writes like a house fire, has a boundless and truly ghastly imagination that'll keep you awake long after you turn the last page.' Kirkus 'A fascinating and frightening take on the genre.' Independent on Sunday 'A chilling journey into a pitch-black mind.' Michael Marshall, author of 'The Straw men' trilogy 'A sturdy hero with a clearcut mission and a setting that holds possibilities for fresh adventure. Kerley writes in a thrusting style that pushes the action from crime scene to autopsy table.' New York Times Book Review 'Kerley jacks up the tension effectively, building to an all-stops-out climax. The plot is a treasure chest of interlocked pieces.' Booklist 'Superb! fantastic.' Sunday Express

About the Author
Jack Kerley worked in advertising and teaching before becoming a full-time novelist. He lives in Newport, Kentucky, but also spends a good deal of time in Southern Alabama, the setting for his Carson Ryder series, starting with 'The Hundredth Man'. He is married with two children.

Customer Reviews

"We need to start feeling for the lines ".
I have an early morning ritual. I cycle into work early , potter around doing mundane administration stuff and getting things ready for the days business . Then i make myself a cup of tea and sit down to read a book for ten minutes or so. I look forward immensely to this quiet interlude every working morning .I looked forward to it even more while reading J.A.Kerley,s latest novel "Little Girls Lost ".
Even though it is a touch derivative , and i will explain why shortly, it is utterly compulsive . Former police detective Conner Sandhill is now known as the "Gumbo King " on account of his successful gumbo restaurant and his habit of wearing a crown and other regal accoutrements. He was an ace case cracker but police politics cost him his badge. When young black girls start disappearing in the neighbourhood and the police without any leads are under pressure from the Mayor and protesters claiming race bias( if it were white girls going missing they would be working so much harder- that sort of thing ) Sandhill is paired up with existing detective Ryder . He becomes especially motivated when a young girl in his care goes missing too . But there is not only the desperate hunt for the girl to contend with. Rogue elements within the police department don't want Sandhill around and are prepared to take fanatical measures to get rid of him.
Personally i like thrillers that crack along with the narrative and don't ponce around with extraneous verbiage and character led navel gazing and I also , ideally, like a bit of wit and spark in the character interaction and Little Girls Lost certainly delivers on both counts. As i alluded to earlier though the plot is cribbed to a certain extent from other thrillers and the ending is diluted by having a key chapter narrated by a juvenile . I won't name the bookd it reminds me of lest i give things away too much but several times when reading this book the plot points of other novels leapt into my head.
In all fairness it is becoming increasingly difficult for authors to write original thrillers. Little Girls Lost isn't the usual serial killer hunt it first appears it may be and hurrah for that . And unless I'm being naïve , which incidentally I wouldn't rule out, it all seems chillingly plausible . So while Little Girls Lost isn't a five star original of the genre it most certainly is four stars on the entertainment front .To utilise that cliché - it's a real page turner.

this has been delayed
Hey all Jack Kerley fans! According to his officail website this book is delayed till 2010 and the next book Blood brother has been pushed up and is out July 2008. love Etta x

Fab book
Great book - gripped me from page 1 - another thriller that draws you in.