Product Description

In this affecting crime novel, shortlisted for both the Edgar and the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, Eric Moore watches his safe, solid world disintegrate. When eight-year-old Amy Giordano disappears from her family's house, while Keith, Eric's teenage son, is babysitting, Keith becomes an obvious suspect, and even his parents have misgivings. As time passes without Amy being found, a corrosive suspicion seeps into every aspect of Eric's life. That suspicion is fed by Eric's shaky family history - a father whose plans failed, an alcoholic older brother, a younger sister who died aged seven and a mother driven to suicide. Not even Eric's loving wife, Meredith, is immune from his doubts as he begins to examine and re-examine every aspect of his life. The totally unexpected resolution is both shocking and perfectly apt.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #536162 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this affecting, if oddly flat, crime novel from Edgar-winner Cook (The Chatham School Affair), Eric Moore, a prosperous businessman, watches his safe, solid world disintegrate. When eight-year-old Amy Giordano, whom Eric's teenage son, Keith, was babysitting, disappears from her family's house, many believe Keith is an obvious suspect, and not even his parents are completely convinced that he wasn't somehow involved. As time passes without Amy being found, a corrosive suspicion seeps into every aspect of Eric's life. That suspicion is fed by Eric's shaky family history-a father whose failed plans led from moderate wealth to near penury, an alcoholic older brother who's never amounted to much, a younger sister fatally stricken with a brain tumor and a mother driven to suicide. Not even Eric's loving wife, Meredith, is immune from his doubts as he begins to examine and re-examine every aspect of his life. The ongoing police investigation and the anguish of the missing girl's father provide periodic goads as Eric's futile attempts to allay his own misgivings seem only to lead him into more desperate straits. The totally unexpected resolution is both shocking and perfectly apt.
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From Booklist
Cook's latest is proof that he is maturing into a gifted storyteller. An eight-year-old girl is missing. The police quickly zero in on her baby-sitter, Keith Moore. Keith's parents proclaim his innocence, but his father, Eric, has his own secret doubts. The way the author tells the story, it really doesn't matter whether Keith is guilty or not; what matters is the way the Moore family slowly disintegrates, as his parents deal in their own ways with the possibility that their son may be a monster. The novel is narrated by Eric; perhaps the story might have been slightly more effective if it were told in the third person, so we could watch Eric fall apart (rather than listen to him tell us about it), but that's nit-picking. In terms of its emotional depth and carefully drawn characters, this is one of Cook's best novels. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Thomas Cook writes like a wounded angel and Red Leaves is one of his masterworks. Sorrow, suspicion, fear and forgiveness hang suspended over an almost unbearably increasing tension. In Cook's hands, the crime novel, if that's what this is, moves firmly into literature." Peter Straub "Red Leaves is one of the best novels you'll read this year - gripping, beautifully written, surprising and devastating. Thomas H. Cook has long been one of my favourite writers. Red Leaves will show you why." Harlan Coben "A splendid if painful destruction of the American dream by everyday evil... you won't be able to put it down." Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian "Red Leaves is a brilliant description of how a seemingly perfect life can fall apart all because of one phone call. Outstanding and so very melancholic." Independent on Sunday '...a cracking book ... deserves to put Cook up in the top bracket among readers as well as fellow writers.' Manchester Evening News 'A terrific piece of work' Guardian 'Red Leaves is a brilliant description of how a seemingly perfect life can fall apart all because of one phone call. Outstanding.' Independent on Sunday