THE KIDNAPPERS

An 11-year-old's reputation for wild stories comes back to haunt him when he's sole witness to a kidnapping but can't get anyone to take him seriously. After seeing classmate Willie Groves pulled into a car outside their exclusive private school, Joey beats his head against a wall of adult disbelief for hours; Ernie the chauffeur laughs it off, his family is skeptical, he gets a lecture about playing pranks from the 911 operator, and when he finally badgers his parents into calling the Groves, they reach a maid taking messages. Joey passes a restless night, his vivid imagination working overtime on what Willie must be going through. When police show up the next day, he's vindicated, but a new and more pressing worry intrudes after first a cab, and then the kidnap car nearly run him down. Roberts (Twisted Summer, 1996, etc.) cranks up the suspense, delivering several ingenious twists in the process; as it turns out, the crooks are hiding in Joey's apartment building, and after a surprise meeting in the elevator Joey finds himself locked up with an unharmed and bored Willie. Readers will feel Joey's fear and frustration keenly in this expertly done page-turner. (Fiction. 10-12)