Missing, Presumed
Author(s): Susie Steiner
A WALL STREET JOURNAL AND GUARDIAN THRILLER OF THE YEAR
A respected detective. A lonely woman.
Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw loves her job but longs for a personal life. Distant from her own family, she wants a husband and children of her own.
A missing girl who seemed to have it all.
After yet another disastrous Internet date, Manon turns on her police radio and receives an alert that sends her to a puzzling crime scene. Postgrad student Edith Hind is the well-connected daughter of the physician to the Royal Family—and she has disappeared.
Few clues. And the clock is ticking . . .
A smattering of blood. No forced entry. The first seventy-two hours are crucial. Edith’s boyfriend, best friend and parents are pulled into the investigation. Secrets begin to emerge about the girl’s tangled love life and erratic behaviour leading up to her disappearance. And the shocking discovery has consequences not just for Edith’s family but for Manon as well.
Review(s):
Missing, Presumed is fast-paced, twisty and full of realistic characters and scenarios. With any luck Detective Bradshaw will be back in future instalments, since she is a quirky, likable character, capable of carrying a series.
[Steiner] gets inside the minds and lives of her book’s socially disparate personalities with the grace of a novelist of manners, even as she pulls tight the strands of one of the most ambitious police procedurals of the year.
“Nuanced suspense that’s perfect for Kate Atkinson fans.”
This novel stands out from the pack. . . . A highly charismatic and engaging story.
A vein of dark humor pulses beneath this compelling whodunit with an appealing, complicated heroine at its center.
Where Steiner excels is in the depth and clarity with which she depicts her characters. Manon is sad and lonely, estranged from her sister and something of a misanthrope. But she’s also funny and clever, and interesting. I defy you not to fall for her.
Steiner’s engrossing, gripping and wry prose, beautifully detailed storytelling and the wonderfully drawn DS Manon Bradshaw elevate this missing person novel into something quite spectacular and deeply satisfying.
This clever, witty novel is one of those rare books that marries excellent writing and memorable characters with an absorbing plot and a startling twist.
Susie Steiner knows how to capture the reader’s attention, keep her enthralled and sign off neatly. Missing, Presumed is an excellent crime novel.
Missing, Presumed is an extraordinarily assured police procedural in the tradition of Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George—the surprises continue to the last page as Steiner blasts expectations and assumptions to dig deep into questions of trust, betrayal, class, and family bonds. Dazzling.
ISBN: 9781443454148