STRANGER IN THE HOUSE [Mass Market Paperback]

Tom Lange is at work. Anna's at home with the kids. Paul, a two year old toddler plays happily in the yard while Anna nips inside to take a quick look at Tracy, who's crying and sick in bed with a cold. Only a few moments later, she comes back out to a parent's worst nightmare - Paul is nowhere to be found. Eleven years later, Tom and Tracy have long since given up hope but Anna has remained so completely obsessed with the possibility that Paul is alive and will return to them someday that their family relationships are on the verge of collapse. A family friend, Detective Buddy Ferraro now shocks them with the news that a death bed confession from one of the kidnappers has resulted in Paul being found and returned to his family.

Stranger in the House is actually two stories happening simultaneously. Suffice it to say that the "thriller" half of the tale is monumentally maudlin. MacDonald lets us know who the real villain of the tale is almost from the outset of the story and the only tidbit held in reserve for the climax is the reason.

The other story is the evolution of the Lange family after Paul returns. Tom feels tremendous guilt and remorse that he was obviously wrong to have given up hope and yet he cannot get rid of the anger he feels at Anna for having ignored the family for so long. Tracy is a completely normal, sullen, self-centered teenager who is upset at having an instant sibling with whom she is now expected to become friends and share. Anna is delighted at Paul's return and fails to recognize that she continues to be obsessed with her son to the exclusion of her husband and daughter. Paul is tormented with nightmares stemming from his experiences with his kidnappers and initially encounters serious psychological difficulties re-adjusting to his new family - even his name and his birthday are different from what he has grown up with! The drama of these problems and how the family avoids near-certain break-up is extremely well done and is far and away the more interesting of the two parts of the novel.

A weak two stars only for the "thriller", four stars for the "family drama" - OK, we'll call it a three star rating!

In Connecticut, pregnant Anna Lange plays outside with her son Paul when her ailing daughter Tracy cries out from inside the house. Anna leaves Paul outside as she enters her house. When she goes back outside Paul is gone.

Eleven years later, Anna is the only one that still believes Paul lives. Her husband Tom and Tracy gave up hope years ago. The disappearance destroyed family relationships.

Police Detective Buddy Ferrano informs Anna that Paul has been found in West Virginia. Albert and Dorothy Rambo raised him, but the woman just died, but not before confiding in her minister about Paul. Anna is elated while Tom is stunned and Tracy is angry. Rambo is not happy either as he is on the lam living out of garbage cans. The quartet face similar questions as to how will each family member react to the change in relational dynamics, what happened eleven years ago, and where does the allegedly dangerous Rambo fit in all this?

Fans of taut suspense stories will appreciate STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. The tale is at its best when each member of the Langes including Paul struggle with his return in different ways; thus each member of the quartet has a unique personality. When the tale turns into a life threatening thriller with a twist, the exciting novel loses a bit of its momentum and the climax relies too heavily on coincidence. Still Patricia MacDonald delivers a strong novel that readers will welcome.

Harriet Klausner

I have enjoyed reading books written by Patricia MacDonald. I like her writing style and thoroughly enjoy the intertwined stories within the suspenseful plots of her books. And, even though this book was a quick read, I did not feel that this was one of her best, and felt the ending was lacking.