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During the Vietnam War, Jason Southby flew an F-4D Phantom jet into an undercast of clouds and was never seen again. Thirty-four years later, his daughter, Zoe Zanardi, is positive he’s still alive somewhere in Southeast Asia.
Zoe inherited from her grandmother the strange and creepy ability to blackout, then wake to find that she’s painted places she’s never been and people she’s never met. After finding her father’s POW/MIA bracelet—once worn by his sister after he disappeared—in a junk shop, Zoe begins to paint scenes from the time her father’s plane went down.
Chad Stone arrives in Mystic Cove, Maine both for a vacation and to do a favor for his deceased friend Heath—a favor that lands him smack in the middle of Zoe’s quest to find her father. He reluctantly agrees to help her because he can’t let her go to Vietnam alone. She’s determined to go with or without him—or, worse, go with Sam Fenton, a CIA operative who’s working on the shady side of the government—a man Chad wouldn’t trust to feed his dogs while he’s out of town.
Once in Vietnam, danger strikes, and Chad has to depend on an old friend to help get Zoe out of there alive. The longer they’re in the jungle, the less Chad trusts anyone. And the only clues to what might have happened to Jason Southby are in the drawings that Zoe sketches on the trail while in one of her trances.
Missing In Action is filled with romance, intrigue, suspense, and danger. With fresh writing and a unique plot, Ms. Champagne skillfully and vividly brings to life both the coastline of Maine and the jungles of Vietnam. I found myself getting chills from the trance-induced painting sessions and laughing out loud at a clever turn of phrase. This is a quick, enjoyable read, perfect for a rainy day or a lazy afternoon lounging on a boat at the lake.
