After he finds himself stranded at a truck stop in Missouri, Mark Sieber gets one of the biggest shocks of his life when he recognizes the face of a missing child who winds up sitting his booth, waiting for him. After the media frenzy begins, Mark sneaks away to his hotel room to call his wife and let her know what's going on. There he is taken hostage by the same people who released the little girl. But his abductors are children themselves and have their own plans for him.Gary A. Braunbeck paints a visceral tale of child kidnapping and abuse that sticks in your head for days after. While the basic plot of the story is questionable (Why did the kids need Mark to "return" them to their homes?), its execution is extremely well done.
Braunbeck shows to what depths a professional child slaver, known as "Grendel", will go to in order to ply his trade and establish dominance over his victims. The scenes describing the horrors perpetrated against the kids turns your stomach and twists your heartstrings. However, the kids turn out to be stronger than their abuser, and their unification allows them to triumph and gain their ultimate revenge.
Despite the somewhat contrived plot set-up, this book is extremely well-written and is highly recommended for anyone interested in real-world horror.
Available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
Title: Prodigal Blues
Author: Gary A. Braunbeck
Year: 2006
Pages: 304
