Originally released in 1983, STRANGER IN THE HOUSE never feels behind the times.  With a subject that most parents fear, Patricia MacDonald brings a nightmare to life.

Anna Lange finds herself in a moment of chaos.  Her four-year-old son is outside playing, her toddler daughter is sick, and her pregnancy tires her out.  Rushing upstairs to care for her daughter, she never imagines to come downstairs and find her son, Paul, has disappeared.

Eleven years pass without a word.  Then a visit will turn Anna’s life upside down, Paul is alive and coming home.  However, the troubled teenager is not the sweet child she lost.  He doesn’t remember the family, or events leading up to his disappearance.  Someone does though, and that person will not rest until they know the truth will remain hidden forever.

Though the antagonist is revealed to the reader early on, Patricia MacDonald’s chilling story still packs a tremendous punch.  Each character has a personal struggle that adds depth to the story.  From the daughter’s guilt that she was the reason her brother vanished to Anna’s husband’s guilt over his crumbling marriage, the reader is given great insight into what holds this family together and what threatens to tear them apart.  The conclusion fit well with the story, though I thought there would be more to it than there actually was.

STRANGER IN THE HOUSE may be twenty years old, but it’s impact in light of many of today’s missing children stories that flood the media is just as strong now as it was then.  I found it to be a fast-paced read, one that I couldn’t put down.