The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope

 

"She realizes that such a physically close relationship must fade as a child grows, but she has missed the slow raising of boundaries that she is sure happens in every family. Instead she has lost an affectionate little boy and found a skittish, rigid adolescent in his place."

            -Megan's thoughts, from the novel

This novel was an Amazon First Reads selection and it was a good one. One description added as a subtitle in a couple of places was "An absolutely gripping and emotional page turner." And indeed, it was all of that!

Single mother, Megan, is still grieving the loss of her young son who was kidnapped by her ex-husband Greg 6 years previous. The two have seemingly fallen off the face of the earth. Just when she is close to giving up hope, son Daniel, now 12 years old is found. He is almost unrecognizable to Megan, as the quote above might reveal. Daniel has obviously had his mind poisoned against his mother by Greg. The difficulty of this situation can hardly be overstated. It makes me wonder how many families have been torn apart by such a situation in real life.

The novel goes from the kidnapping to present day in which Megan has finally remarried--- Michael, a detective working on Daniel's case, and they have a baby girl, Evie. Interspersed there are narratives telling Daniel's story. There are many BIG surprises along the way.

I have never read this author's work until now, but I would definitely read more. I found the plot of The Boy in the Photo compelling and quite intense. I am rating it a 4+.