OF A BOY

This brief Aussie work focuses on Adrian, a 9-year-old boy overwhelmed with fear during a spate of child disappearances. The suburban milieu in which he lives is hardly idyllic, though the kids are impossibly sympathetic. Somehow it seems as if the threat from the unknown malefactor(s) is part and parcel of the community's warped values. In a thick Australian accent, Humphrey Bower imbues the story with a pervasive suspense and alternating elements of righteous indignation, sentiment, and dread. He punctuates his phrases with sharp, short pauses that increase the tension but destroy the flow, making the book feel longer than it is. Y.R.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]