Pieces of the Puzzle

For Alex and Carolyn, a simple swimming getaway after football trials turns into a parents' worst nightmare, when their younger son, nine-year-old Jordan, disappears. Within hours, they realise he's become the victim of some bizarre kidnapping plot, one without a ransom demand, just a strange note apologizing for the boy being taken. When Jordan is not quickly found, Alex and Carolyn's family begins to disintegrate. Most of the blame is placed on their twelve-year-old son, Joshua, who was supposed to be watching out for his younger brother. He now endures the brunt of his mother's anger. Almost a year later, the family is astounded when Jordan simply turns up at home to have breakfast, expecting everything to still be as it once was. However, amid all the mystery and rejoicing over his sudden and safe return, it appears the family will never return to normal. For a start, Jordan refuses to reveal where he's been the past year, apart from saying he was dying and was in a hospital, where he was "cured." Secondly, he talks of impossibilities, saying that he met his identical twin. He also begins to display surprising new abilities, including being able to play the piano and speak fluent French. The changes are so extreme that, as Alex and Carolyn try to put the mysterious Pieces of the Puzzle together, they come to suspect that the boy who returned is not really their son. Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Morgan Bruce is a retired high school music teacher. This is his second novel. Publisher's website: http://sbprabooks.com/MorganBruce