Unlike “The Vanishing of Archie Gray” — a fun book to read but an excruciating one to write — “Documentia” came together quickly and is exactly the story I had in mind. No suffering rewrites. No wild plot twists to resolve. Straight-forward and (hopefully) affecting.

Hate to go Hollywood when describing a book, but this really sums it up best: “Documentia” is “North by Northwest” meets “The Game.”

It’s the story of Karl Banswick, a middle-aged car dealer trying to locate his estranged wife, who disappeared the day before finalization of their divorce. He receives a red envelope with an innocuous document inside. He follows the clue to a library book. He doesn’t think much of it. The next day, another envelope, a second innocuous document. Soon, he is discovers bands of people following trails of documents to find missing loved ones. He joins up with a few stragglers to locate the source of the documents – and his wife.

Is it a giant kidnapping ring? A game? A set up? Karl doesn’t know. No one, apparently, knows much. Only those who get to the end, past the black envelopes that could get you killed, ever learn the secret.

I should also say that this novel is firmly rooted in 1970s thriller fiction (Ira Levin, William Goldman, Brian Garfield, etc.) It's even set in the year 1977 as tribute (and also to eliminate access to computers or cell phones.) The action is foot and car chases, some derring-do, but no Jerry Bruckheimer histrionics. “Documentia” is everyday people in elevated circumstances.

The novel's language is also in the style of 1970s fiction. Unlike the poetic stylization of "Audrey Green" or "Archie Gray," this one is written completely straight and plain (though not boring!). I wanted the novel to zip along, so the focus is on dialog and unornamented descriptions.

One other thing I should comment on... Karl becomes friends with a woman whose son is missing. Though much of the story focuses on their relationship, it is quite a different pairing from Archie Gray and Suzette O'Connor in “The Vanishing of Archie Gray.” However, this is a familiar man / woman "on the run" element that's appeared 3 or 4 times in my own fiction, and in many bestsellers, including stuff like “The DaVinci Code." You know that I hate to repeat myself, but I consider this a variation on a theme, where I am trying to perfect something I had started in my last novel. Consider the others a dry run.