The Lost Boys

More about the book

When Bertram Lanz goes missing from a diner in Greenbury, the small upstate New York community rallies to search the woods for him. He had been on a field trip with the Loving Care Home staff and residents when he disappeared. As the case escalates to an official missing persons investigation, Detectives Peter Decker and Tyler McAdams delve into the circumstances surrounding Bertram's vanishing. Decker suspects Bertram left with someone familiar rather than getting lost. Their inquiry leads them to Elsie Schulung, a recently fired nurse who had shown a particular interest in Bertram. However, the case takes a dark turn when Elsie also goes missing and blood is discovered in her kitchen. Compounding the mystery, searchers find the remains of one of three young men who disappeared during a camping trip. Meanwhile, Decker faces personal turmoil as the biological mother of his foster son, Gabriel, reappears after a decade, bringing emotional upheaval. Balancing personal issues with a pressing investigation, Decker and McAdams sift through old files and clues, grappling with frustrating dead ends. As they continue their search for Bertram and the campers, the detectives question whether the woods will ever reveal their secrets and if the intertwined cases can be resolved.