Parents' Guide to Eyes of the Forest

EYES OF THE FOREST begins with the kidnapping of bestselling fantasy author R.M. (Bob) Haldon. After being hit over the head by a stun gun, he comes to and finds himself chained to a treadmill desk that holds a typewriter and a threatening note: "Better start writing Eyes of the Forest. Or else!" Yes, Bob is writing a novel with the same name. Finding himself held captive is not at all what Bob had planned (turns out he had a part in the scheme, after suffering from years of writer's block). The teen kidnapper, Derrick Lavinsky, takes him to an isolated cabin where, cut off from any distractions, he could finish the long overdue final novel in his Swords and Shadows series. Derrick turns out to be an obsessed fan as well as his jailer. No one knows Bob has disappeared, and the only person who seems at all concerned by his absence is 17-year-old Bridget Shepard. She met Bob at a book signing when she was only 12 and so impressed him with her encyclopedic knowledge of his books that's she been working with him managing a database that keeps track of all the details (characters, events, clothing, swords) in the novels. When she doesn't hear from Bob, she tells her new boyfriend, Ajay Kapoor, about her work with Bob and her increasing belief that he's in some kind of danger. What neither Bridget or Ajay know is that danger is close by. Derrick is Bridget and Ajay's classmate, and he's watching them. She and Ajay set out to find Bob, but instead encounter police officers who don't take her claims about his disappearance seriously. When even Ajay begins to doubt Bridget, she realizes it's up to her to find and rescue Bob.