On this crisp October day, the class of six-year-old children are wrapped up warm in gloves and coats for their trip to a local farm. They giggle as they stroke the animals and search for the perfect Halloween pumpkin, and as I watch my daughter Claire race off with her friends, the pink ribbon in her hair bouncing, I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s been so hard since my husband died and my sweet little girl deserves to be happy.
But as the sun sets and the teachers gather the children, Claire is nowhere to be seen.
We call the police and frantically scour the fields and playgrounds, my heart breaking as I cry out Claire’s name. And then a detective shows me a video: my daughter, skipping away from the farm, holding hands with an adult in a bulky coat, their cap pulled down low.
My blood turns to ice. Claire would never leave with a stranger. Whoever took her must be someone I know.
But who could want to punish me this badly? Is it linked to the night I refuse to think about—the terrible night my husband died?
Did my mistakes put my baby girl in danger?
Can I save her by finally facing the past?
Or will I lose her forever when the truth comes out?
Ever look away from your child for a second, and they disappear? It happened to me once, years ago, at a local mall. I remember that stuck in a vacuum feeling, like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs for the few short minutes it took to find my girl. The School Trip takes that and multiplies it by a thousand. This is easily a parent's worst fear, and it's not like Claire has just wandered off. Nope, someone has taken her. And from that point, the story is full steam ahead and hard to put down. There are some twists along the way, some I saw coming and some not, and Miranda Smith throws in some pretty decent red herrings. The story comes together in what feels like an abrupt ending, but I don't think it was so much abrupt as it fits with the pacing of the story. It's definitely worth the read if you enjoy crime thrillers.
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