Long Island, New York and Southern Florida -- The Present

Jane Hartley’s bridal gown design company makes a decent living for herself and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Kelly. As a relatively young single mother, she saw her only child nearly die from childhood cancer, but Kelly beat the odds. So it is a shock for this over-protective mother to discover her daughter has a secret life hidden from her mom. While driving on the Hempstead Turnpike in Long Island, a motorcycle called a 'crotch rocket ‘ passes her car and Jane recognizes Kelly riding behind a boy she doesn't know. Jane isn’t too hard on Kelly, because she knows about secrets. She has been keeping one since before Kelly was born. Then, during the next night, Kelly disappears leaving a note telling her mom not to worry. Is her child out-of-control?

The next day, Jane answers her cell phone. Kelly whispers she is in trouble...and then the call abruptly ends. Jane goes to the police, but while the detective she speaks to agrees to put out a Be on the Lookout for Kelly, he is not hopeful that the media will pick it up because there is no proof Kelly was abducted. The police detective does, however, give Jane the business card of a man who might help her. She asks ex-FBI agent Randal Shane for his help. When Shane breaks the password on her daughter’s computer, Jane is surprised to find Kelly not only has been riding motorcycles, but skydiving and learning to fly a plane. Jane doesn’t even know the last name of Kelly’s boyfriend, Seth, who seems to be much older than her daughter. Then Shane discovers Seth’s father is billionaire Edwin Manning. And from Edwin’s demeanor when they talk to him, it’s clear Seth has been kidnapped. Shane also discovers someone has been using Kelly’s cell phone from South Florida to phone Edwin Manning...

Jane is an entirely likeable, but quirky mom fighting her inherent shyness and tendency to have panic attacks. Shane is an equally unusual man driven by his haunted past. Their struggle to find Kelly is terrifying to any parent who has imagined such a situation. Worse tension awaits the reader. There is something horribly chilling about a psychotic killer on a mission, especially one with a sharp, native intelligence. The style of TRAPPED is also a little unusual, changing from first person present tense to third person present. I wasn’t used to this, but within a few chapters was well hooked by Jane’s predicament and her passion to find her daughter. In TRAPPED, Mr. Jordan has written an intense story sure to entrap even the wariest reader.

Robin Lee