Helpless

At my last agency, I did some pro bono work for Child Find Ontario, an organization that assists in the recovery of missing children.

One of the things I learned while working on that account is that stranger abduction is exceedingly rare. The vast majority of missing children are the result of parental abduction.

Yet the thought of an innocent child going missing is perhaps one of the worst things you could consider.

Barbara Gowdy's novel, Helpless, takes us into the dark reaches of stranger abduction. It's told from multiple points of view -- including the child, her mother, the abductor and his girlfriend.

Gowdy has said, "I was thinking, what’s the worst thing that can happen to a person? For me—and I don’t even have children—a child’s disappearance would be the worst possible hell."

She explores this hell with chilling precision.

The novel is a page-turner. One of those books you're thinking about reading when you're not reading it. So compelling that I turned off the season premiere of 90210 to keep reading!

What makes it even more interesting is that the novel is set in my old hood -- Cabbagetown. In fact, when I lived there, I'd often see Gowdy walking her dog at Riverdale Farm.

Writers, when you see them, never quite look like what you'd imagine. Her talent is so great, you'd almost expect her to be, well, larger than life.

Pick it up. Guaranteed good read.