The Face
Angela Hunt
Mira, Nov 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780778327271

Two decades ago Sarah Sims was born without facial features. The hospital declared her dead and she was serendipitously given to the CIA. Dr. Glenda Mewton raised Sarah hidden from the world at a top-secret CIA lab. Sarah now twenty has no hopes or dreams; isolated even in the isolated CIA construct where she lives.

All that changes when Sarah's Aunt Renee learns her niece lives in concealment as a CIA computer expert. She offers Sarah a chance to meet the world starting with surgery. However, Renee cannot give Sarah the courage to take a chance on life; that must come from within and her 'mom' Dr. Mewton will not let her go.

Avoiding melodrama with touches of humor, Angela Hunt provides a superb character driven thriller as the key three females seem genuine with flaws and all. The storyline grips readers from the opening moments when the doctor informs Sarah's parents and the audience that the newborn suffers from Treacher Collins syndrome. Readers will want what is best for her though that is not easy to discern even if fans want her to step out into the world of her aunt. This is a winner as the angst is high but controlled inside a strong tale of second chances.

Harriet Klausner