The Quiet Child: A Novel

Danny McCray is The Quiet Child. He is only six years old, but everyone in the small town of Cottonwood, California believes he is making people sick. Even his mother is slowly wasting away. One day, Michael McCray takes his two sons, Danny and Sean, to get ice cream. While he is trying to pay, someone jumps in his car with both boys in it and speeds away. A manhunt begins for the boys, with the Sheriff and their mother being some of the only ones who actually seem to want both boys found. But the longer the boys are gone, the better their mother seems to get. So is it possible there is some truth to the claims? Should they keep looking for these two innocent little boys?

This was a very interesting plot. What was also different from most books was that the author never really clarified what or who was making people sick. The book is more about how far we will go to protect the ones we love based on what we believe to be true, no matter how far-fetched. I found this book to be incredibly sad, with only Danny really getting a happy ending. Not the kind of book I’m used to reading. However, it was still a great look at human psychology and how flawed we really are, even if we appear to be good to others.

The story takes place in 1954 California, and you can tell that the author did his research. There is a scene where they are trying to figure out where a phone call originated from, and they only had switchboards back then, but the author explained it very well. I felt like he captured the time period perfectly. I’m not quite sure what book I would compare it to in order to recommend it. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but it wasn’t bad either.