REVIEW: MISSING, PRESUMED, BY SUSIE STEINER

 

 

 

On a night in December 2010, DS Manon Bradshaw, of the Cambridgeshire police, is trying once again to find “the one.” Internet dating has been terribly disappointing, especially this latest one. But, at thirty-nine, she longs for a family, with children, so she keeps trying.

Back in her flat, while falling asleep, she listens to the police radio, as was her custom. But first she spends some time whining to best friend Bryony about her miserable dating life. Tonight’s radio is still a comfort…until it isn’t. There is a call to action…a missing person case.

Meanwhile, in her lovely Hampstead home, Miriam Hind is enjoying her Sunday, thinking of how glad she is to have a daughter, Edith, and imagines her caring for her in her old age. Her husband Ian, a surgeon, and a physician who treats the royal family, is out somewhere, enjoying the day.

All of these lives are about to be upended…the missing person case involves Edith Hind, and while the clues are puzzling, the detectives are consumed with following them. What we learn of Edith as we go along is that she is self-absorbed, narcissistic, and careless with others. Others will fall by the wayside during the quest and the publicity, including Edith’s friend Helena Reed.

Missing, Presumed kept me reading, and while there were many red herrings along the way, none of the troublesome mysteries would bring this reader to suspect what had actually happened. There were also some moments between colleagues that were enjoyable. I liked Manon, her partner, Davy, and another of her attempts at a relationship with a man called Alan Prenderghast. Sadly, a disappointment. But then she finds a ten-year-old boy, Fly Kent, whose brother Taylor has been killed…and whose mother is sick. She looks in on him, pays for someone to keep him fed, and waits.

In the end, I liked how the pieces came together, and look forward to reading more about Manon and her life. 4.5 stars.

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