This, Susie Steiner’s second novel, is crime fiction that goes beyond the usual police procedural. A missing young woman is at the centre of the story, drawn in detail even though we see little of her. Steiner does a great job with her cast of beautifully drawn characters in conveying the urgency of the initial investigation in the 72 hours when a missing persons case is most likely to end well. And after that, she deftly handles the step change to the more measured pace of what is more likely to be a murder investigation. The detail is rich – this is an author who really knows her characters, no-one is just sketched in or a convenient archetype.
The protagonist, Manon Bradshaw, is satisfyingly complex, and likeable even when she’s frustrating. I love details like the way she uses her police radio to accompany her insomniac hours, lulled by the repetition of stolen cars and drunk and disorderly arrests. Manon is going to be a joy to follow in this series of novels.
The sequel, Persons Unknown, is just out in hardback and was on my TBR pile but has been swiped by my mother-in-law who loved Missing, Presumed so I’ll have to wait a little while.
I loved this and if you like Tana French’s Dublin-set crime novels, I think you will too.
