THE SEARCH FOR SARA

One quiet Sunday morning Sara Brent goes for a walk. . . and doesn't return. Her husband Ralph is puzzled, then fearful--along with teenage daughters Debbie and Carol. The police are called in; Ralph grows ever more perplexed--especially when his daughters identify a snapshot as a good likeness of Sara, while Ralph is sure that the photo looks nothing like her! What's going on here? Well, once again, as in Russell's previous teasers (Backlash, etc.), there's a sneaky identity-puzzle at work--one which forces the hero to reveal his true nature: Ralph's facade of devoted husband and father soon disintegrates, revealing a philanderer (unfaithful to both wife and mistress) and a business cheat, his domestic life deadened by his indifference. And eventually, in the aftermath of an unpredictable murder, Sara is found. . . but the worst is yet to come. One of Russell's more clever and convincing trick-mysteries--contrived, perhaps, but taut and involving.