Find Debbie!

by Roy Brown

A detective's professional objectivity mixes with his emotions during his search for Debbie, a retarded child who is reported missing, but not particularly missed, by her parents and siblings.

160 pages, loose_leaf

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Roy Frederick Brown, born in Vancouver B.C., was deputy headmaster of the Helen Allison School for Autistic Children, Gravesend, Kent, from 1969-75.

"Among major children's writers of the 1970s, Roy Brown was one particularly open to his times, in tune with their issues and concerns and, while the readability and human interest of his stories guarantee a wide readership, the settings indicate a conscious desire to offer the non-academic urban child a means of identification. The years brought development in technique but not deviation from city backgrounds and characters at risk or disadvantage in modern society." [source: Peggy Heeks in Twentieth Century Children's Writers (Macmillan, 1978).

Reviews

[Nigel Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a good many books by Roy Brown over the years. He seems to be able to write about teenagers with an instinctive understanding of their psyche irrespective of era. This is one of his books for older readers and has a very modern feel. It could easily be a sunday night crime thriller on itv. It is a cold and dark piece of writing that captured so well the impact of mental health issues on a whole family. Not cosy or comfortable, but important.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual story about a family who is burdened with a highly mentally disabled child. She disappears and nobody knows how she got out, although several theories come to light. This book was fast-paced, with a chilling ending, leaving the reader with the bare facts. They beg the question - how do you feel about the facts?