The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield

Involving and easy flowing thriller

Kathy and Mitch’s 5 year old daughter disappears from a birthday party, while they are not there. They, an ordinary family living in a small town in Vermont, and their other daughter, go through the horrors of waiting for Charlie to be found. Has someone they know taken Charlie, or did an outsider infiltrate the party? How come no-one at the party saw anything? Gradually the normal happy family appearance Kathy and Mitch are at pains to show, starts to fall apart, as do their stories of where they were at the time of the kidnapping.

An involving and easy flowing story, with great characters. Who took Charlie? Who is covering up something? Characters to like, characters to worry about, and all the time the detective is trying to put the pieces together to find the missing girl.

There were a few moments when events seemed too much of a co-incidence, but I glossed over that and really enjoyed, and found myself involved, with the drama and the search for Charlie.

I was reading this while travelling through airports (think delays) and on trains, and The Birthday Party was the perfect companion to keep me interested and involved, whilst travel commotion was swirling around me. Recommended as an enjoyable read that can be picked up and put down at a moments notice without disrupting the flow.

Setting: Vermont, USA

Publisher: Bookouture

Published: January 2022