Creepy; good. The first in the Frank Behr, detective, series. Takes place in Indianapolis. Next "Where the Dead Lay" c. 7/2009 ( )

The good news is that I have found a GREAT new author. The bad news is that he's not just new to me... This is his first novel and it's a really good one. Great characters and a good story. I do hope he's hard at work on the second one. ( )

There is no way in h*** that this stolen kid would have been that normal after the horrors described in the book had been inflicted.
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The first in his Frank Behr series, City of the Sun by David Levien is an American crime novel set in Indianapolis. Frank Behr is an ex-cop, now working as a private detective. He is hired by Paul and Carol Gabriel who are devastated by the disappearance of their twelve year old son. A year has almost gone by since they last saw their son and they have realized that Jamie’s case has been put on the back burner by the police. They are pretty sure that Jamie is most likely dead by now but they are in limbo and need to find out what happened to their son and who is responsible.

Frank painstakingly works the case and follows every lead, he has his own issues that have left him emotionally damaged. Eventually he and the father, Paul start to work together and they discover that Jamie wasn’t randomly grabbed off the streets, but was part of a well planned operation that is run by a local businessman. Behr finds out that the children are taken to Mexico so he and Paul follow the trail and arrive at a remote location in Mexico.

This is an emotionally wrenching story that grabs the reader right from the start, there is a sense of time running short that keeps the pages turning. High in suspense and action, City in the Sun introduces an intense, troubled character that I look forward to learning more of. This read was an excellent launch to the series. ( )

Excellent PI mystery story. Even if the ending is flawed in my mind. A boy vanishes while delivering morning papers. The police have no luck. His father turns to a PI (not the first) and ends up assisting him, uncovering a ring that snatches young boys, and then travels to Mexico to retrieve the boy. I feel it's flawed because the boy survives almost 3 years of captivity undamaged. ( )