Little Girl Gone

In Fenton’s weak sequel to 2009’s Little Lamb Lost, Birmingham, Ala., social worker Claire Conover tries to help a 13- or 14-year-old girl found sleeping underneath a cardboard box behind a discount store. The girl, who tells Claire to call her Sandy, is uncooperative. When Sandy concedes that she won’t be able to go home for a long while, Claire arranges temporary shelter for her. The murder of Sandy’s mother and Sandy’s subsequent disappearance lead Claire to team with untrustworthy reporter Kirk Mahoney and street-smart teen LaReesa Jones to get answers. Unfortunately, repeated information—via Claire’s inner monologue as well as in conversations with reporters, officers, and suspects—slows the action. Fenton provides more details about Claire’s eating and poor sleep habits than she does about the case. Still, Claire makes a sympathetic lead. (BookLife)