To The Last Page

Preposterous though it is, you can’t help admiring the scale and ambition of The Abduction – a big, bold, in-your-face American blockbuster of a thriller. A kidnapped child at the centre of all this furore is Gracie, the tough-cookie daughter of an outrageously rich and successful family. Her father is a computer billionaire, her mother a high-flying, high-profile lawyer. When Gracie is abducted at a school soccer game, it inevitably turns into a huge media event, particularly when a reward of $25 million is offered for her safe return. But surprisingly the kidnappers don’t take the parents up on their offer and there is no ransom demand made. Eventually, the family have to come to terms with the fact that their daughter is almost certainly dead. However, Gracie’s grandfather – a grizzled Vietnam veteran, fighting to contain the demons of the past and the flashbacks that torment him through heavy drinking – has a mystical psychic connection with the child and is convinced that she is ...