This is an intriguing book – in more ways than one, the cover blurb says Kevin MacKenzie . Jr. (Mac) has been missing for 10 years, but calls his mother three times each year, on his birthday, on her birthday and on Mother’s Day. However, on the first page of the book we learn, that Charles MacKenzie. Jr. (Mack) has been missing for 10 years but calls his mother once a year on Mother’s Day. I like a mystery!
Caroline MacKenzie was sixteen years old when her brother walked out of his apartment and just disappeared. Now at twenty six watching her mother sit by the telephone all through the hours of Mother’s Day waiting to hear Mack’s voice, Caroline determines to track her brother down and end the uncertainty of why he disappeared.
She contacts the police to try and re-open the investigation, but Detective Barrott who reviews the information that they have on file, and the steps taken at the time of Mack’s disappearance is less than helpful. To be fair he is investigating the disappearance of a young girl who left a nightclub a few days ago and has not been seen since. Realising there is likely to be no help from the police, Caroline set’s out to investigate her brother’s disappearance herself.
She starts with the managers of the apartment block where Mack lived. Lil and Gus Kramer seem very uneasy when she questions them – but they have problems of their own, the owner of the property has both a nephew and an overall manager of his properties, and neither have the interests of the Kramers at heart, they are in what is known as a rock and a hard place.
There are many facets to the story, which initially have no link but gradually as Caroline continues to dig these separate incidents begin to converge. As Mack has disappeared 10 years ago much of her delving is into the past, and as always I am fascinated by the different views that people have of each other. Oh! to see ourselves as other’s see us.
The story is told from multiple points of view, although the main voice is Caroline’s. I had my own idea’s from quite early on but there are so many twists and turns that I changed my mind several times, but did eventually come back to my initial thoughts – good to know my instincts are still good. A really good mystery.
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Lizzie Hayes