Whose Little Girl Are You?

I thought, Ho Hum, another airplane book--you read it, eat your lo-fat pretzels, forget it. Wrong. I actually got caught up in this book--the ideas of adoption and identity are very well done. The heroine is a pistol, sometimes almost too much so, but in the end I still really liked her, so I'm cutting her some slack. The villains--woo!--anybody who doesn't know these guys are absolutely real and terrifying is geographically challenged.

I loved this book, from the scarey, mysterious first moments deep in the past to when, thirty years later, the feisty heroinie enters the scene! Jaye Garrett is determined to save her adopted brother's life. She has a difficult double job--unraveling what happened three decades ago--and trying to dodge the forces that don't want her to know anything at all. Like all good suspense books, there's more than thrills and chills at stake. The writer gets into emotional and family issues that are gripping and highly intense. Anyone whoever struggled to untangle an adoption issue in the family should read this book. It tells it like is is, and sometimes it makes you cry, but mostly it's a story of a woman's strength.

This book is fast-paced, gripping, scary, romantic, and sometimes funny, as well. The heroine, Jaye, knows she has a difficult task before her--finding a marrow donor for her beloved adopted brother. But Jaye doesn't realize her quest to save her brother's life puts her own deeply in danger--the past is full of secrets, some of them deadly. Trying to trace her brother's roots, Jaye goes to a small town in Oklahoma, where she joins forces with a deceptively nice young lawyer--who's not quite what he seems to be. The quiet little town isn't nearly as peaceful as it appears on the surface, either; it contains both villains and victims who are terrified that the truth will come out. This book deals with some difficult and emotional issues, and it kept me interested from cover to cover. I would love to see it made into a film, because it has strong protagonists, dramatic situations, and the creepiest set of villains I can remember in a long time. As for one reviewer's problem with the character LaBonny taking a certain whiz, it seemed to me highly indicative of LaBonny's contemptuous attitude--he was not only expressing disrespect for his employer, but, animal-like, was marking the territory he intended to make his own. Of all the villains, he is the least human and the one most often represented as acting on an animal level. The actor Chris Cooper would make a great LaBonny; Cameron Diaz would be the perfect Jaye; and for the hero, Turner, Ben Affleck could convey just the right combination of charm and sometimes reluctant ruthlessness.

I literally could not put this book down. I started it in the early afternoon and finished in the wee hours of the next morning. Bethany Campbell was excellent at unfolding answers to the mystery surrounding the "adoption" of Jaye and her brother Patrick just a little at a time -- enough to keep the reader turning paces at a frantic pace! Campbell has created a feisty heroine in Jaye whose curiosity and determination nearly get her killed. Turner is a terrific hero even though he keeps a secret which could threaten his chance of happiness with Jaye. The minor characters of the residents of the town of Cawdor, Oklahoma were chillingly well-done - their evil permeating the pages. Highly recommended!

In New England, Brother Maynard informs Jaye Garrett that her brother Patrick is dying in a Belgium hospital. Patrick suffers from leukemia and only a bone marrow transplant can save his life. The probability of siblings matching all six antigens is one in four. However, Maynard reveals to the distraught woman that that she and Patrick are adopted from different parents. The odds astronomically jump against finding a match within the general public.Jaye's mother admits she hid the truth from her beloved two children. She pleads with Jaye to go to Cawdor, Oklahoma where it all began because a blood relative is the best chance of saving Patrick's life. Two days later, Jaye seeks information on Dr. Roland Hunsinger and the Sunnyside Medical Clinic, but none of the locals will provide anything to her. She meets attorney Turner Gibson, who says his Pennsylvania client seeks the same information. Roland and his son-in-law will do anything to keep the truth from surfacing. However, Jaye is at least as obstinate as Turner and plans to do whatever it takes to find a proper donor.With novels like SEE HOW THEY RUN, DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS, and HEAR NO EVIL, Bethany Campbell has become one of the top authors of suspense. Her current tale, WHOSE LITTLE GIRL ARE YOU? is a fabulous thriller that shows why this fan favorite is the recipient of several awards. The story line is non-stop action as two desperate opponents struggle with revealing or concealing the truth. Readers will adore Jaye, a wonderful heroine doing what she believes is the only course of action to save Patrick's life. Ms. Campbell is heading back to all the best seller lists with an incredibly powerful novel.Harriet Klausner