Great Solid Suspense Mystery, Hidden, by Thomas Hall Spotlights Child Abduction...

"The dream always started out innocently enough: Jonathan and his wife, Cindy, are sitting on a beach blanket by a lake, laughing and joking about something or other. Cindy then decides to go for a swim. Jonathan stays on the blanket, preferring to read.

"After several minutes and without warning, the sky turns the color of putty. It's as if God has taken a paintbrush and on a single stroke obliterated the blue overhead. Even more startling is the condition of the lake. There are rolling waves and whitecaps heading toward Cindy. Jonathan calls to her with fear in his voice, but she dismisses him.

 'If it starts thundering and lightning, I'll come in..."

"Other  than the fact that Cindy had died, nothing in the dream had actually occurred...

~~~

Hidden

By Thomas Hall

Jonathan's wife had been killed just months ago and Jonathan had fallen apart until he was able to realize that his son, Eric, had lost his mother and was also grieving. Eric was just now beginning to respond to his attempts to establish a better relationship between the two... It had been an average morning when Jonathan had dropped off Eric at school...

When they told him Eric was gone, Jonathan couldn't really be sure that he had waited there until Eric had actually opened the door and entered school. But that didn't matter, it didn't change the fact that he was gone--possibly kidnapped, possibly a runaway. Eric was six years old...

As two of the most important individuals in this drama, readers will not have much interaction with either. Jonathan must meekly stand by, perhaps praying, perhaps trying to remember any little thing that might help the police, the FBI...

Eric? He's Hidden...

"The silence was brief as Walker continued. "You
know, it's funny. Over the years I've gotten a lot of
satisfaction from what I do. But if someone asked
me whether I love my job, I'd say no. How can you
love doing something that half the time ends up
with some kid being scarred for life, or worse? So
why did I keep doing it?" A pause, "Well, at the
risk of sounding like a self-serving jerk, I'm good
at it. And just maybe a few more kids are alive
because of that. But as great as the successful ones
make you feel, somehow they don't make up for
other ones."
~~~

This is a solid mystery that will keep you in suspense, until--everything starts falling apart for the bad guys! And when that happens, a variety of criminal activities will fall out... from many, many places...

Eric, though, has been hidden...

The man who kidnapped him has been killed...

The man who fed him has been killed...

The criminal investigation team leaders for this kidnapping are, simply, two characters that would, if we were in this situation, be the best possible men to be working the case.

Dave Munoz is the local detective but has been joined by FBI agent Craig Walker. Walker surprises Munoz by being a very informal, let's-work-together type of agent. In fact by the end of the story, they are thinking about working together... I'm hoping that the author decides to do at least another sequel...and possibly a series! That's how good these guys are. They work the case, rarely take time off and use every means possible to, in this situation, find the child! Walker has plenty of experience in abduction cases, while Munoz adds the creative thinking and perseverance...

Action moves back and forth between the kidnapping case and the activities of the criminals involved. Tony Sarno is the front man for most of the events that occur. We find him initially being arrested in a hotel that is being used for prostitution--he is in the hallway, but had dropped his cell phone as the police do a raid...

Tony Sarno is into just about anything you can think of, but because the police found an email that had porn photos attached, they were able to take him in as well. The important part of this is that we meet three other characters--a volunteer public defender and an ADA who become involved with the kidnapping case... And a possible corrupt judge...

This is an exceptionally well-written suspense novel that moves directly into child abduction, pornography and trafficking, with the emphasis on solving the crimes... But also honing in on the potential criminal activities that are kept secret...by people you might pass in the mall or on the street... daily... 

Highly recommended for mystery lovers! Enjoy!


GABixlerReviews

About the author: 
Thomas Hall was born on Long Island, New York and would later move to Massachusetts. After graduating high school he received a full athletic scholarship to Northeastern University where he would receive his Bachelor and Master Degrees. As a former English teacher and principal, with over thirty-five years in the academia field, Mr. Hall has since retired and is now able to devote his time and extensive skill set to his passion—writing. He and his wife Marcia live in Central Massachusetts and have three adult children.