Drifting
By Stephanie
Gertler
The
Inn at Drifting is an eight-room inn in Drifting, Connecticut, overlooking
the Atlantic and owned by veterinarian Eli Bishop and his psychologist
wife, Claire. Their daughter,
Natalie, has just left for college and Claire is suffering from
empty nest syndrome.
Nicholas
Pierce and his blind daughter, 7 year old Kayla, unexpectedly check
in. Claire immediately relates to Kayla, remembering her own past.
She had been raised by her father Jack Cherney since her mother
Sulie deserted them when Claire was two years old.
Eli,
however, feels there is something wrong with the two. Nicholas senses
this, and when Eli and Claire leave to fill a prescription for Kayla's
eyes, he hurriedly leaves.
While
searching for Kayla and Nicholas, Eli and Claire learn unsettling
information about Nicholas and suddenly it becomes a race for to
track down Nicholas before he can do any harm to Kayla.
This
is a story of the love between mother and daughter, and of the need
for some mothers to find their roots. Claire's emotions over her
own mother's abandonment and her forty-five year quest to learn
the reasons for that abandonment are thoughtful and insightful.
The race against time is suspenseful and terrifying in its implications.
The terror and bewilderment of the blind Kayla is touching and Kayla's
mother's reaction to her child's disappearance is heart-rending.
This
is a well-written, compelling story not to be missed.
|