The Other Side Of Silence by Bill Pronzini

 

Rick Fallon is taking his two week vacation in the desert.  Every so often he just has to get away from everything and listen to the silence.  After camping for a few days, he comes upon a deserted car along a road.  He uses his binoculars and sees a woman lying near some rocks.  When he gets to her, she is almost dead from sun exposure and dehydration.  Fallon rescues her and when she is recovered hears her story.

Carol Dunbar is desperate.  Four months ago her ex-husband had kidnapped their eight year old son and disappeared with him.  Carol has tried everything to find them and now her money is gone.  The last detective she hired was able to track them to Las Vegas but when Carol got close, all she found was a man hired by her ex to beat her up and tell her to forget her search.  

Fall works security and was an MP in the military.  He understands the pain of losing a child as his own son was killed in an accident.  He decides to use the rest of his vacation to help Carol find her son and retrieve him.  Was it a good decision?

Bill Pronzini writes in the mystery genre, typically stories of hard men facing harder choices.  Fallon is an interesting character and I'd love to see a whole series focusing on him.  The mystery has lots of twists and turns and ends in a way that is unexpected.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.