Night Sins

Night Sins

 By Tami Hoag (1996)

A freak car accident detains Dr. Hannah Kirkwood at the hospital, keeping her from picking up her son after hockey practice at school.  When his mother doesn't arrive on time to pick him up, Josh Kirkwood places a call to his father, Paul Kirkwood, who doesn't answer.  Shortly thereafter a van pulls up outside the school, after all the other boys have left with their families, and on a snowy, cold night Josh Kirkwood disappears.

So begins the story of the disappearance of a well-known, well-loved doctor's son.  What has happened to Josh?  Who has him?  What do the clues mean?  Will Josh be found in time?  And who among those in the community from professors to businessmen to law enforcement officers holds the key to his safe return?

Enter the first female field agent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Megan O'Malley along with police chief, Mitch Holt, attempt to put the pieces of the puzzle together by following the clues left by the kidnapper.  He leaves them in plain site in full view of the searchers looking for Josh.  It all starts with a clue left in Josh's backpack; "a child has vanished-ignorance is not innocence but SIN".

This book is a non-stop thrill ride until the very end of the story.  There are a variety of characters from lunatics to priests who aren't quite what they seem, to next door neighbors with ulterior motives, to college professors who are more interested in drama than teaching college courses; the list of unusual characters goes on and on.  An excellent book with some adult situations, those adult situations were really not necessary to the flow of the book and took away from the story, I thought, but all in all an excellent book. 

Don't miss the second book in this series: Guilty As Sin.