Deborah Dr Kralich

The Mystery of the Missing Persons Deborah Dr Kralich

Publisher Marketing: Girls are mysteriously vanishing in suburbia and it is up to amateur teenage detective Barbara Scott to rescue them. Trying to figure out how Barbara can do this alone is Barbara's creator, aspiring author Victoria Grasso, age 6. Victoria is determined to make Barbara a credit to the teenage detective fiction genre. She fights skepticism, indifference and illogical demands as she attempts to create consistent characters and an understandable plot for her book while also making sense of the intricate and prosperous world around her. It is America, 1963. While ostensibly promoting justice and peace, cultural institutions have begun quietly slipping off the foundation of faith upon which this thriving society was built. Suddenly this process emerges from the shadows, emboldened by violence. Past inequities are swept away only to be replace by emerging intolerance disguised as progress. New, untested values displace sacred ideals held since the country began. Murder, scandal, adultery, prejudice, intolerance and abuse are but a few of the evils that disrupt and shatter this sparkling world. Hope for future survival may be found by combining enduring truths from the past with blessings yet to come. Yet fear of the unknown dominates and may yet vanquish all harmony as the restructure of the culture overwhelms many of the adults entrusted with leadership, result in upheaval and chaos. Victoria strives to control her book as she cannot hope to shape reality. She knows eventually she must emerge in this society, able to cope, even thrive, while remaining true to herself.