Little Boy Lost

When his little boy, Aaron, disappears, Miles Gale, still under suspicion for his first wife's murder, becomes a prime suspect, and only C.J., Aaron's older brother, know where both Aaron and his very much alive mother are

From Publishers Weekly

Six years ago Miles Gale's first wife was murdered. Three years later his second wife disappeared. Now his youngest son has vanished from the back seat of their car. Seeking clues in the disturbing pattern of events, the police are unwittingly led by Gale's second wife, Marie, a demoness who can traverse time and cloud men's minds. Marie killed Gale's first wife so she could have a son by him, and has now claimed the boy. Wright ( The Place ) fails to convince: there are so many loose threads that the plot seems never to have been woven, and attempts at characterization seem limited to players who make only cameo appearances. This effort to straddle the horror/fantasy boundary disappoints in both genres. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- An intriguing book about the sudden disappearance of six-year-old Aaron Gale. While riding with his older brother, C. J., and their father, Miles, the child simply vanishes from the vehicle. This alone is odd enough, but the 8-year-old murder of Miles's first wife remains unsolved; his second wife, Marie, disappeared just 18 months before Aaron and has not been heard of since. Coupled with such suspicious events are C. J.'s photographic memory and his father's work as an archaeologist. Some of the characters are introduced only superficially, yet this weakness is slight in contrast to the spellbinding plot. The book could enhance the curriculum in several areas--mysticism, Native Americans, parapsychology--in addition to being an enjoyable piece of fiction.- Diane Goheen, Topeka West High School Library, KSCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A six-year-old is kidnapped by his demonic mom--in a fuzzy, soft-core horror yarn from Wright (The School, 1990, etc.) The no-gore, low-shock story opens with 11-year-old C.J. Gale describing to a psychologist how his younger brother, Aaron, vanished from the family car just as C.J., Aaron, and their dad, Miles, were parking at the local mall. C.J.'s monologue is titled ``WHAT HAPPENED THE DAY AARON GOT LOST''; further recountings by C.J. appear under the same title throughout--this sort of building- block narration is a hallmark of Wright's highly stylized, gentle storytelling--and slowly reveal that Aaron was snatched by his mother, Marie (C.J.'s stepmother), who walked out of the Gales' life 18 months before. But Marie's not just any covetous mom--she, we learn incrementally, is a primordial demon, apparently conjured up when Miles, an archaeologist, unearthed the skull of her previous incarnation: Marie evidently killed C.J.'s mom and took her place in Miles's heart in order to give birth to Aaron. And now that she's taken Aaron, Marie, for reasons that remain vague, has also taken to haunting C.J. and Miles--who is suspected by the cops of having done away with his son--by transporting them into a primeval, deeply forested past. The story's extremely scattered second half mostly details Marie's stalking of C.J. and Aaron in that forest; the semisurreal mayhem ends abruptly when Aaron finds an axe and wields it judiciously--though apparently bloodlessly. Golden-eyed Marie and sharply etched if familiar effects- -shrill winds, looming trees, eerie scratchings--provide a few chills, but not enough to solidify Wright's gaseous plotting. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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