Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Help Me Please
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Barbara D'Amato
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural
Series: Suze Figueroa # 3
Forge, Oct 1999, $23.95, 336 pp.
Famous country-western singer Maggie Mckittredge and Senator Neal Gaston have tried to conceive a baby for years without any success. Their prayers are answered at a Northwestern University clinic where Danni is conceived. The infant is born healthy and her two parents begin an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Name Cathedral to thank God.
When Danni turns three, Maggie and Neal travel to the church for their pilgrimage. A priest stands at the door, ushering the worshipers into the building. Danni wanders down the aisle when an elderly person collapses. Maggie looks away for a moment, but when she returns to check on Danni, the little girl is missing. A search of the church reveals nothing except that the priest at the door did not belong to the congregation. Professionals kidnapped Danni, and the little girl appears on the Web site HELP ME PLEASE less than two hours later. The bare room contains no food or toilet. Chief of Detectives Polly Kelly heads the investigation with her only goal being to bring the child safely home. Time is ticking away as Danni seems to have only a few days of survival time left.
HELP ME PLEASE is a superbly executed police procedural that will leave a chill in the readers’s soul as the motive for the abduction is uglier than the crime. Polly is a wonderful detective, but little Danni clearly owns the story line as readers can envision her plight and trauma. Though the technical aspects of the web seem incomprehensible at least to this reviewer, the story line moves rapidly to its climax. Barbara D’Amato has written another thriller that feels so genuine as to make the story line feel even chillier.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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