House at T Edge..Jungle

In 1942, Japan invaded Malaya and forced many of the British expatriates living there to serve in prison camps. Though some escaped to England, others disappeared, never to be heard of again. Victor and Isabel Cartwright were among the lucky--they were evacuated with a group of other children just hours before the Japanese reached Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-one years later, caustic Victor must return to Malaya on business. He reluctantly invites spirited Isabel to come along, for, despite his belief that the past is gone, she is desperate to find traces of the parents they left behind. When Victor breaks his leg during a visit to their old house, the accident secures Isabel's belief that their parents' spirits are trying to communicate with her; and now, with Victor recuperating in the hospital, she is free to solve the familial enigma herself. Enter Oliver Bailey, Victor's colleague, who joins Isabel as she traipses from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur searching for clues. Their findings intrigue even doubtful Victor, and when a surprising character from the siblings' past reappears, the puzzle pieces start locking into place. Featuring a strong coming-of-age angle, this is a well-written, deftly structured story of cryptic family ties, from the author of Willful Neglect. Agents, Anna Cottle and Mary Alice Keir. (Feb.)