Jane and Kyle Madison's son Max-just 6 months old-vanished during Mardi Gras while in his 16-year-old sister's care. The family, of course, is devastated and the search for Max is thorough and careful. Yet no trace is found except for one tiny shoe left in his stroller.

Six months later, Jane and Kyle's marriage is foundering as they drift apart in their own grief, while their daughter Melanie makes decisions that put even more pressure on the family. But hope surfaces when frightening events in Jane's life begin pointing to a possible connection between her past and Max's kidnapping. Can they find him before it's too late? Will the kidnapper take their other child as well?

Readers of modern-day fiction will enjoy this tale of heart-rending emotion, forgiveness, suspense and high drama as one family fights to restore their past only to have a new future bring them together. Faith is a subtle undercurrent through much of the book, but Jane's emerging understanding of God's love adds depth to the tale.
-Ann E. Byle

Missing Max
Karen Young
Howard Books
softcover, 320 pages, $14.99
978-1-416-58749-1