The Missing Boy

Thirteen year old Dan hasn't returned home and his parents don't know whether he's run away, been kidnapped, or something worse. For one family the world as they know it is about to fall apart At first Dan is roughing it, reveling in his independence. But with every passing day, his world is becoming darker and more frightening. Thousands of children run away each year. Most come back. But will Dan? Dan's mother, Eve, a drama teacher, can't focus, his father, Max, only knows how to flee his own demons, and his aunt, Martha, while trained to control difficult situations as a prison officer, struggles to hold it all together. Dan's story is told against an adult drama of love and shifting loyalties and two sisters who were best friends until Max came between them. Gradually, all three begin to recognize how badly they have failed the missing boy. Rachel Billington has written a tense and emotional novel about the day–to–day existence of a contemporary family living through their worst nightmare. Anguish and hope move across the pages until the final breathtaking denouement.