From Publishers Weekly
A teacher who suspects that a young pupil is the victim of a toddler kidnapping takes a huge step in Kelman's (Prime Evil) hardcover debut. Beth Logan, a special-ed teacher in a New Hampshire private school, elects to return Pip, the headmaster's purported son, to Connecticut and the family to which she believes he was born. Beth is convinced by the lack of records in his file and the insinuations of a paranoid neighbor that Pip is actually Ethan Haskel, who, six years ago, disappeared mysteriously from his island home in Long Island Sound. But having reunited Pip with this strange extended family and having witnessed the patriarch's cruelty and the mother's nearly narcotic submissiveness, Beth realizes she must get the boy off the island and back to his home in New Hampshire. Kelman's coincidence-ridden, improbable tale asks readers to sympathize with a least likely heroine whose intentions do not redeem her bad judgment. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Bethany Logan teaches students with learning problems at a private school in New Hampshire. When she can't find records for the principal's eight-year-old son, she convinces herself that he is the victim of an unsolved kidnapping that occurred years before. Determined to return Ethan Haskel to his parents, she kidnaps him herself. When they finally reach the family's island, Bethany discovers that the place is totally isolated from the mainland. Every August the Haskels spend a week in seclusion, and their activities are unnerving. Almost every Haskel is mentally unbalanced, and some are homicidal. Bethany soon realizes that she has placed herself and the boy in danger. If this isn't enough action, one subplot involves Bethany's sister and a nasty divorce, while another centers on Bethany's guilt over her mother's suicide by drowning and Bethany's resulting fear of water, especially the ocean. To get through the book, readers will not only have to suspend disbelief but abandon it entirely. Purchase only where Kelman (Hush Little Darlings, Berkley, 1996) has a following.Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Not to be confused with the identically titled kids' movie currently in the theaters, this tale is a loopy, amusing first hardcover suspenser from women-in-perilist Kelman, author of ten mass-market originals (One Last Kiss, etc.). Did Adam Stafford II, the exquisitely handsome director of an elite New Hampshire boys' boarding school, actually father the spoiled, troublesome brat he calls his son? Bethany Logan, a witty, pretty, but sadly unmarried specialist in difficult children, becomes suspicious when Pip, whom she teaches at the school, and his widower father prove to be unusually secretive about their past. Bethany ransacks the director's files and finds clues pointing to an unsolved cradle-snatching that occurred on a gloomy island off the Connecticut coast. Similar birth dates and appearances, and a nosy neighbor's computer wizardry, persuade Bethany that Pip Stafford is the missing Ethan Haskel, whose disappearance at the age of two nudged his wealthy mother, Eva, into madness. Frustrated by incompetent law enforcement types, Bethany finds her maternal hysteria going into overdrive: She vows to return Pip/Ethan to his biological parents. This sets off a predictable chase that turns creepy as the Haskel clan's inbred eccentricities, mildewed surroundings, and vile gothic secrets set Bethany wondering what it is about childbirth that turns apparently normal women into crazy moms. Would Pip/Ethan be better off with his possibly criminal, but mentally stable, adopted dad? If so, how can Bethany undo the damage she's already caused? Kelman's charming, high-strung heroine succeeds in a giddy, turbulent mix of gothic farce, rustic New England scenery, and cautious concern over the disturbing passions children arouse in their parents. A low-fat bonbon for Susan Isaacs fans. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


From the Publisher
Everyone on Rand's Island swore Eva Haskel was crazy. Ever since the well-publicized, unsolved kidnapping of her baby, she was a tragic figure on the tiny island off the Connecticut coast, wildly mourning the child who mysteriously vanished six long years ago. Then a shocking twist of fate and a very determined young woman enter Eva's dark world to bring her son home at last....Bethany Logan, a spirited teacher at a private boys' school in New Hampshire, teaches children with learning disabilities. All of her students adore her...except for one: Pip Stafford, a moody troublemaker and son of the school headmaster. Determined to solve Pip's behavior problems, Bethany delves deep into his files and discovers a clue to the boy's true identity. Now, determined to right the wrongs of a heinous crime, Bethany takes Pip to isolated Rand's Island. But her effort to put the past behind them rapidly escalates into terror, drawing Bethany deep into a world of madness, as she learns not only the danger of digging up the past, but that the present holds no escape from her own darkest fears and tragic memories.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Everyone on Rand's Island said Eva Haskel was crazy; ever since the well-publicized, unsolved kidnapping of her baby, she has been a tragic figure on the small island off the Connecticut coast, wildly mourning the child who mysteriously vanished six long years ago. But soon a shocking twist of fate - and a very determined young woman - will come into Eva's dark world, to bring her son home at last... Bethany Logan is a spirited teacher at Hinsdale, a private boys' school in a small New Hampshire town. Single, unsettled, and best friends with her protective dog, Aunt Sadie, she has a unique gift for teaching children with learning disabilities. She understands their special needs and makes even the toughest challenges fun. In return, her students adore her. Except for Pip Stafford, a moody troublemaker and son of the school's headmaster, handsome but chilly Adam Stafford. Determined to solve Pip's behavior problems, Bethany confronts the boy's father - only to be given a quick brush-off and a frightening glimpse of Stafford's temper. Going even farther out on a limb, she makes a late-night raid into the school's administrative files, but they reveal nothing. Bethany is ready to give up her quest to find a way to reach the boy when a chance detail in an old poorly focused photo leads her to unearth his true identity.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A teacher who suspects that a young pupil is the victim of a toddler kidnapping takes a huge step in Kelman's (Prime Evil) hardcover debut. Beth Logan, a special-ed teacher in a New Hampshire private school, elects to return Pip, the headmaster's purported son, to Connecticut and the family to which she believes he was born. Beth is convinced by the lack of records in his file and the insinuations of a paranoid neighbor that Pip is actually Ethan Haskel, who, six years ago, disappeared mysteriously from his island home in Long Island Sound. But having reunited Pip with this strange extended family and having witnessed the patriarch's cruelty and the mother's nearly narcotic submissiveness, Beth realizes she must get the boy off the island and back to his home in New Hampshire. Kelman's coincidence-ridden, improbable tale asks readers to sympathize with a least likely heroine whose intentions do not redeem her bad judgment. (Dec.)

Library Journal

Bethany Logan teaches students with learning problems at a private school in New Hampshire. When she can't find records for the principal's eight-year-old son, she convinces herself that he is the victim of an unsolved kidnapping that occurred years before. Determined to return Ethan Haskel to his parents, she kidnaps him herself. When they finally reach the family's island, Bethany discovers that the place is totally isolated from the mainland. Every August the Haskels spend a week in seclusion, and their activities are unnerving. Almost every Haskel is mentally unbalanced, and some are homicidal. Bethany soon realizes that she has placed herself and the boy in danger. If this isn't enough action, one subplot involves Bethany's sister and a nasty divorce, while another centers on Bethany's guilt over her mother's suicide by drowning and Bethany's resulting fear of water, especially the ocean. To get through the book, readers will not only have to suspend disbelief but abandon it entirely. Purchase only where Kelman (Hush Little Darlings, Berkley, 1996) has a following.-Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.

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