Girl Missing

by Edna Sherry

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty brisk, simple, but fun thriller from the author of Sudden Fear. Enjoyable in large part because it really captures a specific time and place, among the graceful rich of New York in the 1960s, and particularly among the younger set trying to escape parental domination, whether it's about trying to get them to come work in an office, or to date the right person. It's mostly in the little details here — bits of slang and who uses it, the expectation for what was and wasn't done on a date, the particular fantasies the protagonist has about starting a thoroughbred farm. Not nearly as knotty psychologically as Sudden Fear, but a quick read about a gambling debt, a poor solution, a well-planned kidnapping, and a sudden outbreak of conscience.

[John Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young ne'er do well playboy gets in over his head with his bookie. This being the time after his parent's last time, he winds up signing on--literally!--to help said bookie kidnap one of his hoity-toity friends. As an armchair kidnapping buff (don't get me started about little Lindy), the kidnap plot is wildly improbable for something executed by real criminals against real victims, and the slappy-happy ending offends my noir sensibilities. But despite all this, I still managed to enjoy the vivid characterizations and the crisp, clean writing propelling the story while never taking itself too seriously. An enjoyable book by a writer who deserves something other than the basement at my library.