Books to Borrow Roaring Spring Public Library Recommends

David Burroughs was a devoted father to his three-year-old son, Matthew. He was living a dream life just a short drive away from the working-class suburb where he and his wife Cheryl had first met and fell in love. Until one fateful night when David woke suddenly to discover his beloved son, Matthew, had been murdered while David had been asleep and his wife had been working the night shift at the hospital.

David was wrongly accused and convicted of the murder. He was left to serve out his time in a maximum security prison. This being a fate that, grieving and wracked with guilt, David doesn’t have the will to fight. The world has moved on without him. He signs a form stating that he wants no visitors. In the beginning, Cheryl tries, as do others, but he refuses to see anyone.

Cheryl’s family never really approved of David. He was a little too blue collar for them, but David and Cheryl’s younger sister, Rachel, became very close. She was like the little sister that he never had. David and Rachel enjoyed spending time together.

A half a decade later, Rachel makes a visit to the prison. It seems that the no visitor form must be completed and renewed each year, so David must see her. During the visit, Rachel shares that she and her husband, Sam, have divorced and that she is no longer an investigative reporter for the Globe. During the conversation, Rachel shares that Cheryl has never blamed David for Matthew’s death. She has moved on since their divorce and is remarried.

Rachel’s former husband works for Merton Pharmaceuticals. He has a co-worker named Tom Langley. Tom and his wife, Irene, went on a company trip with their two boys to an amusement park in Springfield called Six Flags. Irene met Rachel for lunch where she talked about the trip and shared a bunch of photos. Rachel has an 8x10 manilla envelope with her on her visit with David. From the envelope she pulls a family photo taken at the amusement park. At first, David wonders why she is showing it to him. As he looks closer, he sees a boy about eight years old in the background. He is holding the hand of an adult male. A steel claw reaches into David’s chest and squeezes his heart. Tears push into his eyes and he reaches out with tentative fingers to stroke the figure in the picture. As impossible as it seems, the boy bears an eerie resemblance to Matthew. David just knows that Matthew is still alive!

David, with help from others, plans a harrowing escape. He is determined to achieve the impossible, to save his son, clear his name, and discover the real story of what happened. But with his life on the line and the FBI following his every move, can David evade capture long enough to reveal the shocking truth?