School Library Journal
YA Sarah Stannard , recently enrolled at an exclusive private school in Annapolis, meets fellow student Emily Caldwell, who looks like her. On her way home from school, Emily is nearly abducted by a fanatical, gaunt-faced man. Several days later, Sarah is abducted by this same Joseph Sherk , who has left the hill country of Virginia searching for his lost daughter. Detective Howard Warner must piece together the clues that link these three girls. For Sarah the game is survival. Can she fool the deranged man who wants to love her like a father, yet has the strength and cunning to kill her? Teenagers will empathize with her shifts of mood, her fears and her bravado. The action is fast paced as Warner moves in for the swift, chilling conclusion. The young people are those one might meet in any high school, striving to break out of the protective cocoon of childhood. The authentic local color, the precise detail of street scenes and the nuance of personality quirks, as well as the intricate webbing of Sarah, Emily and Sherk's daughter Margaret, reveal Finch's skill as a storyteller. Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School, Upper Marlboro, Md.