Cold Fear
   Rick Mofina
   (Guest Reviewer - Sandi von Pier)
  2001 Little,Brown & Co.
    ISBN: 0786012668


In the remote reaches of Glacier National Park, on a family camping trip, 10 year old Paige Baker & her dog Kobee disappear.

Guest Reviewer Sandi von Pier writes:

Paige's mother, Emily, has a “monster” from her childhood to put to rest & the family is stressed. Lots of arguing. Emily's issues stem from the death of her sister 22 years ago in the same remote wilderness to which she has brought her family. This trip is supposed to bring closure & release her from the monster's grip.

Paige's father, Doug, wants to know what's going on with his wife. Emily has always kept her childhood a secret but lately the silence is causing trouble between them. He is frustrated & angry & had hoped this trip will help her & bring them back together.

Paige is worried. She thinks her parents are getting divorced.

A family witnesses Doug yelling at Emily when they pass each other on the trails. Later at their campsite they get into it again. Emily goes off alone to cool down. Paige needs reassuring that everything will be okay & tries to talk to her father. He's chopping wood & is so angry he hurts himself & takes it out on Paige. Then he chases her off with the ax in his hand, yelling at her to go be with her mother.

That was the last time that either of them see their daughter.

At a rescue command center, a multi-agency task force launches a massive search, & the dramatic story grips the nation as the media feels they have a right to tell what's happening & dig into the Bakers' past & personal lives. Now their entire life is an open book. The evidence that the FBI has collected leads to the belief that Paige is dead & they're convinced the parents committed the crime but among the task force there are mixed feelings about what really has happened.

Isaiah Hood is a convict on death row for the killing of a child & after faking a dire illness, he has escaped. He is Emily's monster. She was a witness to the killing & Isaiah has always claimed he was innocent.

Emily is tormented because she feels she should have been able to save her sister. Did it really happen the way she said it did? Now her daughter is gone. Will Paige die the same death?

Cold Fear is 465 pages long & finally, after 200 pages it takes off. When it got good, it got really good!

I love camping & I have a 10-year-old so I could picture the scenario. It was frightening. What if that happened to me?

The original plot reminded me of Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, which was written from the lost child's perspective. Mofina's book has everyone's perspective. This frustrated me with too many people to keep track of.

I recommend Cold Fear, just know it starts slow & picks -- then the pages keep turning!

More from Rick Mofina: If Angels Fall
(08/19/01)

Sandi von Pier
A RebeccasReads.com Guest Reviewer