It's supposed to be a routine, "let's meet for iced coffee" type break for Alice Halpern.  Six months into her pregnancy with twins, Alice is always happy to meet up with her friend, Lauren Barnet, who is eight months pregnant, before picking up their children from school.  Though Alice has the iced coffees in hand, Lauren never shows up.  At first, Alice thinks Lauren may have gone into labor.  Alice picks up her two children and Lauren's son from school and heads home to make some calls.

Soon Alice finds herself living a nightmare.  Lauren has vanished off the face of the earth and police are desperately searching to find the expectant mom.  Lauren isn't the first pregnant woman to vanish in New York City, and they hope to find both Lauren and her unborn fetus alive and well.

For Alice, the nightmare is only beginning.  As she helps detectives with anything she can think to do, someone begins threatening Alice and her own children...

Possibly less of a mystery than it is a suspense, SEVEN MINUTES TO NOON launches the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride with a story that could have come from the headline news.  Kate Pepper brings the streets of Brooklyn to life with her knowledge of the area where she lives.  She takes a quiet family neighborhood and gives it a nightmarish tone.  Growing up in an area where a classmate vanished and whose remains were found months later, I know for a fact that horrifying things can happen in areas you know.  This makes SEVEN MINUTES TO NOON so much scarier.

Though I'm still not sure I like the ending, I will admit that the author stuck to her guns and created a realistic suspense novel that will keep you thinking days later!  For a sneak peek into the mind of Kate Pepper, don't miss her article here in Roundtable's Interview area!