As the mother of small children, I didn't think I would have the stomach for the subject matter. But Mitchard is so good at slowly doling out the tidbits of info and clues, that I was compelled to keep going. As the product of an Italian-Irish union I found the extended families entirely relatable, and I thought the character of Candy was especially great. There were times when i didn't really understand Beth's behavior. If one of my kids went missing I think I would be personally turning over every rock...at least in the beginning. I couldn't understand why Beth was not running throughout the hotel screaming Ben's name and running around the nearby streets, instead of slumping into a ball in the lobby. I was also a little disappointed that all the loose ends were not exactly tied up at the end with regard to the central mystery (what exactly transpired with Ben in the hotel lobby before he disappeared, why the return of the second shoe?) Regardless, I found myself sobbing at the end, and not for the reasons I expected. I was especially moved by the sibling relationship and reminded of how intense and important it is.

If I did not have a compulsion to read all the books for the book club, there is no way I would have finished this. The main character was awful, and the ending was resolved too happily and too quickly. I can only hope the film was better than the book.

I feel like everything about this book was over the top - the kidnapping, the mother's selfishness, her attempted affairs, her finally realizing the worth of her husband and non-kidnapped children, and the happy resolution. I felt like I was experiencing an ABC special at its sensationalistic worst.

This book started out with a great premise of a mother losing her child at a reunion, but then it got bogged down so that by the time that I got to the twist in the book, I didn't really care that much. Also, why the child was taken didn't move me much either. This book turned me off reading anything else that this author wrote, and the movie wasn't very good either.

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 1, 1999)
Language: English
My Rating - 5


This book for me was beautiful and scary. Imagine losing your child..the horror of it! It can ruin happy families apart, it can ruin marriages..This is what the book is about ,how the disappearance of a child completely changes the family dynamics and the lasting psychological impact of it.This one is quite a tearjerker. I myself wept quite a bit while reading it. However I have to say I found myself disliking the mother quite a bit especially her selfishness and the way she ignored the other son.However I do realize it her behavior was understandable in the situation.

This is a story about how a happy "normal" family can be completely destroyed..how happiness hangs on such a delicate thread, read to break anytime.

Overall
Haunting, hard-hitting and a heartbreaking novel

More than a book about a kidnapping, it’s a melodramatic look at the family dynamic in the aftermath of tragedy.
A slow (nearly frustrating) burn until around the 55% mark, it really picks up steam after that and remains pretty much unputdownable for the remainder of the novel. At that point, the drama takes an unexpected turn which makes the story feel like it propels forward in a more intriguing manner. That’s the point I suppose. I think that’s exactly what the author intended as our experience as the reader, mirroring what the family is experiencing in real time.
A mid-nineties book and the very first pick in Oprah’s Book Club. A worthy choice I think, especially for the times.
The story drips of familial intricacies such as guilt, resentment, anger, shame, hostility, fear, self-hate and blame.
It’s easy to understand how people fall down the rabbit hole in the face of adversity-an unimaginable atrocity that has the power to destroy you and swallow you so wholly and completely.
It bears the question, how responsible are we while going through trials and tribulations associated with grief and mourning?
I don’t believe there is an easy answer, unless you have gone through something so dark and unimaginable that it changes the entire fabric of your life.
I read this story, trying really hard not to judge each character’s thoughts/actions too harshly. I had read other reviews, before beginning the book, which stated a certain distaste and an inability to connect with the main characters. I thankfully, didn’t feel that to such a degree. I tried to put myself in their shoes, in an attempt to understand what I may have done to cope with the loss that they faced and endured and I think it helped me to feel more compassion toward them which overshadowed my occasional annoyance with their actions/choices in which I didn’t always identify with.
I remember watching the movie of the same name (based on the book) and even though I liked (the mostly unmemorable) film, the book was decidedly better.
4 stars for this family drama.

This book is about a kidnapping. It is told from the mother's point of view and the kidnapped child's brother. The characters really weren't that developed (and for me to notice that is saying something). The plot was predictable and I didn't even like the parents in the story, so I wasn't rooting for them. I only finished the book because I was hoping that something great would happen. It didn't.

I did not really care for this one. I can't really pinpoint why. Maybe it was that Beth was shallow and so empty inside and that seemed to be her before Ben was kidnapped. Maybe it was that even though his brother was supposed to watch him and didn't, there was never any real attempt made to tell the brother that it was really NOT his fault. MOM was the adult. MOM could have held on to him while they checked into the hotel. Lord knows I have done it enough with my 3 girls. You just don't sit them down with a non-responsible sibling and hope it all works out okay. Yes, sometimes it is a pain. You have to use one hand to hold the child and one to sign things or carry things or whatever. It just did not wash with me. Then, what a miracle, Ben shows up and is mowing the grass one day and finds out who he is. Now the boy is torn between the family he knows and the ones who want him back. I felt like it was not about him anymore. Beth seemed to only care that she got him back no matter what damage it caused him.

I just really did not like it.

I read this in 1996. That was the time of the Oprah book club and Oprah likes the drama.

I appreciated the story from what I remember. I wanted to like it because Oprah did, but looking back it was an Okay story. It's about a woman who goes through divorce and a life change. It's well done, but not my favorite kind of story.

I haven't read it since, but I saw someone talk about it and I was like, hey, I read that so I put it in my list.

I did own this book, but I got rid of it along the way.

This book was like solving a 50 piece jigsaw puzzle, gathering all the pieces together. It was really hard to wrap my head around all the characters and the central story. However to my surprise, I really enjoyed the novel, it was provocative about a mother losing her absent minded son. Vincent her older son left a memorable impression on me as well, although he was ignored by Beth (his mother) who was only concerned about Ben and his whereabouts. Three three characters saved this book average rating, so that is always a good thing.

I felt that there were so many things happening at once,but the characters were developed. Maybe not entirely but enough for me to determine whether they contributed the story or not.The writing style was good, not exceptional but it was easy reading. I will admit that I skimmed a lot of irrelevant details but again the central characters stuck out to me.

The ending was a huge letdown but that is probably my own fault judging by the pages I skipped.

Nevertheless, it was a good novel but I can't really recommend if cause I did not really understand what direction the book was going in.

This is my 2nd time reading the book. I read it years ago and my perspective has certainly changed now that I am a mom, especially since I am the mom of a little boy. Though a tiny part of me could identify with Beth's non-functioning state after the disappearance of Ben (what mom wouldn't be completely devastated?), I was appalled at her lack of regard for her 2 other kids. I can't imagine not giving them the love and attention that they deserved; thus, it was difficult to like this character. I do applaud her regard for Sam later when she puts his needs and wants above her own.

Held my attention. I had seen the movie before reading this. A bit soap opera like and I knew where the story was going to go but well written and still an enjoyable read.

I would suggest if you are going to read this maybe start with the book before seeing the movie so you are going in knowing as little as possible. I kind of wish I had done that though I still enjoyed this.

I will say when I first saw the movie I did not even know it was based on a book. I found this book by chance and that is what clued me in. I think the book is better then the movie.

3.5 stars.

I can’t quite explain the feeling this book gave me. I’ve been wanting to read it for years. What a story. Whew. I’m so glad I finally did.