| Abstract/Summary |
Kick Lannigan, 21, is a survivor. Abducted at age six in broad daylight, the police, the public, perhaps even her family assumed the worst had occurred. And then Kathleen Lannigan was found, alive, six years later. And a new form of hell began. In the early months following her freedom, as Kick struggled with PTSD, her parents put her through a litany of therapies -- meditation, Jungian, scream therapy. Nothing helped until the detective who rescued her suggested Kick learn to fight. Before she was thirteen, Kick learned marksmanship, martial arts, boxing, archery, and knife throwing. She excelled at every one, vowing she would never be victimized again. She learned the advantage of stillness when eluding an attacker; and to know every escape route. She learned to notice every detail. She learned four ways to kill someone with a jacket, and that every American car made after 2002 has a release lever in the trunk should you happen to find yourself trapped inside. Kick can keep the anxiety at bay most of the time. Her abductor, Mel, is dying of kidney disease in prison. She has enough money from the government to never want again. She has her brother James, and her dog, Monster, and her "hobbies" to keep her busy. But when a second Amber Alert in a month signals the disappearance of a child in the Portland area, Kick goes into a tailspin. |
