Hideaway

Narcissistic Gloria Janes, the matriarch of the dysfunctional family at the center of this gripping novel from Canadian author Lundrigan (The Substitute), is a master puppeteer, pulling the strings of her estranged husband, Telly; her seven-year-old daughter, Maisy; and her 13-year-old son, Rowan. Gloria blames Rowan for Telly’s departure, and one stormy night she locks the boy out of the house. Rowan runs into the woods and takes refuge with Carl, a homeless man, and his dog. Told from the viewpoint of the two children, the story fluctuates between Rowan’s adventures with Carl and the manhunt for Rowan. Meanwhile, Gloria calmly carries on, stalking Telly and his girlfriend, manipulating Maisy, and using Rowan’s disappearance to her own ends. She firmly believes that both Telly and Rowan will return and they will be one happy family. Then a witness reports seeing a boy fighting with a man in a boat; the man returned to shore alone. As the tension builds, a secret is revealed, and someone must make a difficult choice. Lundrigan’s skillful depiction of the suffocating family dynamics keeps the reader turning the pages to the end. Agent: Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists (Canada). (July)