Smile by Matt Shaw

This is the story of Alex. He has been sent to take his younger brother Lewis shopping to give their worn-out mother a break. Lewis has ADHD and is a complete handful. They go to the shopping centre and buy shoes for Lewis, then Alex goes to look for trainers for himself. Lewis has a tantrum about going to the toy shop first and storms out of the shop. Alex isn't worried however as he has stopped outside the shop window. Then Alex turns around again and Lewis has gone. Thus starts a frantic race against time to find Lewis before the shopping centre closes, then two more women come forward and say their children are missing too......... Can they all be found before it is too late?

This started off as any parents/big brothers nightmare, losing a child in a packed shopping centre. As a parent of two boys of similar age to Lewis, I homed in on the panic very quickly. Seen through his brother Alex's eyes, the story tells of his frantic search for his brother before having to tell his mother what has happened. It was another tautly told tale with a lot going in a short space of time but never felt rushed. The characters were well developed and I felt for Alex. The ending was shocking. A truly horrific tale but in a good way. Matt hits the button again!