Review: Take The Bait

Janelle Harvey, a high school senior, disappears while walking home in the remote village of Trout Run inside New York State’s vast Adirondack Park. Police Chief Frank Bennett is new to town. He vows silently to find Janelle and not make another mistake in judgment like the one he made in a case at his previous job.

This isn’t easy in such a small town. Everyone thinks a stranger has come to town and kidnapped her. He isn’t very popular with his theories that she went off with someone she knew or ran away. Cliff and Ned Stevenson make his life difficult at every turn. Jake Harvey, Janelle’s father, is constantly in his face about this case as well. Then there’s Janelle’s aunt Dorothy and cousin Tommy.

As Frank interviews Janelle’s friends, she starts to see a different Janelle than the one painted by her father. He tries to follow each lead. He steps on many toes in the process.

Frank works closely with the State police. He also works with his assistant Earl, but is afraid to put Earl in charge of much.

Many pets are being killed. Frank feels there is a connection but can’t tie them together. Everyone thinks he is wasting his time.

The ransom note arrives and causes more controversy. Then other things begin happening. Frank is running out of time but has so many leads to follow he is afraid he is wasting his time.

Trout Run is definitely a small town with a close knit community. No one wants to admit that something this terrible could happen there. Especially if one of them is involved.

I really enjoyed this book. The author starts right out with her disappearance and pulled me right into the story with this.

I thought Frank was a well-rounded character. He related well with the townspeople but yet didn’t let them intimidate him. He still investigated them.

The fact that no one was very forthcoming with information was also very indicative of a small town.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Dawn Dowdle

Book Review: Take The Bait