The Lost and the Found by Cat Clark

Faith Logan’s childhood has been dominated by her sister Lauren’s abduction, so thirteen years later when a girl turns up at the Logans’ old house holding Laurel’s old teddy bear, it’s like a miracle has happened.  But things aren’t always as they seem and as Laurel’s behaviour gets more erratic, Faith starts to get paranoid.
 
I really liked the writing style throughout the book - Faith had a slightly sarcastic narrative that took the edge off a pretty depressing subject matter - but I did find that the first third of the book dragged.  It was kind of setting the stage and I liked the background to Faith’s home life and how Laurel’s abduction impacted her family, but not much really happened. 
 
Faith’s best friend was pretty cool, but her boyfriend sucked.  He was literally the worst book boyfriend I’ve ever read about.  He was physically unattractive, and okay looks aren’t everything, but he had questionable personal hygiene and was a total knob to boot.  There’s a plot point that relies on him being a wanker, but honestly it made me respect Faith a whole lot less for being with him.  I got that she was attracted to him because he had no interest in Laurel’s abduction, but I’d have respected her a lot more if she’d chosen to stay single.
 
Things changed in the second half of the book.  I started to get the distinct impression that Laurel wasn’t all she seemed. She started to get really creepy and Faith started to get really suspicious and stalkery.  The tension ramped up and I started to plough through the remaining chapters.
 
The author also had some interesting commentary about how kidnappings are publicised and the role of the press.  It felt like the book stemmed from the author wondering what would happen if Madeleine McCann suddenly turned up.  The press furore surrounding Laurel’s abduction was remarkably similar to the McCann case: attractive blonde child with parents who know how to play the press card getting all the headlines, while hundreds of other socially disadvantaged missing children barely get a paragraph written about them. 
 
The ending felt a little rushed, but it was a satisfying conclusion.  All in all a pretty good read.
 
3.5 stars