| Bump in the Night | |
|---|---|
1st edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Isabelle Holland |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | October, 1988 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 185 pp |
| ISBN | 0-385-23891-6 |
| OCLC Number | 17549157 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 19 |
| LC Classification | PS3558.O3485 B84 1988 |
Bump in the Night is a 1988 suspense novel by Isabelle Holland. It describes the abduction of a little boy by a child molester who is acting in concert with a producer of child pornography movies. It was later adapted into a television movie in 1991, starring Christopher Reeve, Meredith Baxter-Birney, and Corey Carrier.[1]
Divorcee Martha Tierney awakes to a phone call from her son Jonathan's headmistress telling her Jonathan is not at school. Martha, an alcoholic, cannot even remember what day it is.
Jonathan had a call the night before from his father, Patrick, Martha's ex-husband, and the two have arranged a secret meeting at a doughnut shop at 8AM. Jonathan leaves the house early and stops by a neighbor who tells him that the chosen doughnut shop is closed and he will have to meet his father in the street.
Jonathan has been stalked for several days by Lawrence Miller, a former professor who has lost his job after being accused of child molestation. When Patrick fails to show at the doughnut shop, Lawrence pretends to be a friend of Jonathan's father and lures him off to the zoo, then on to an apartment that doubles as a film studio for child pornography movies.
Patrick, Martha, the neighbors, and investigating detective Sergeant Mooney all work together to hunt for the little boy. Jonathan uses all his courage and resourcefulness to escape the sexual abuse that he knows is coming.