I feel like it’s been SO long since I last
published a book review- life really has taken over. I’ve read a fair few books
in spite of this over the last month and I’m thrilled to say that I’ve enjoyed
each and every one of them. I thought it was about time that I got back into
the swing of things and started reviewing the books I’ve read properly again –
no more excuses, Hol, let’s do this!
I’ve had Missing,
Presumed by Susie Steiner on my
shelves for a few months now – slowly but surely my to read list has been
getting much shorter and I finally got around to picking it up last week. We
all know I love thrillers and psychological fiction – I mention it at basically
every opportunity- so I was more than certain that I’d enjoy this one as well. The
book introduces a new protagonist and series- Manon Bradshaw is in her late 30s
and desperately seeking love. She has an incredibly busy and stressful life as
a detective sergeant for Cambridgeshire police, so when a young woman is
reported missing amidst her search for the perfect man, things seem to get even
more complicated for her. Edith Hind, the young girl who has vanished without a
trace, is the daughter of a particularly renowned doctor and the case is
immediately given high status – her dad also happens to be friends with the Chancellor.
When a body is found, things start to get really confusing and complex for the
police and Edith’s family.
The ending was one that I, honestly, didn’t
expect at all. There’s a wee twist towards the end of the book that I
absolutely didn’t see coming in any way, shape or form- I say wee; in reality,
it completely changed the course of the novel and everything I had been
expecting of it. I actually predicted something completely opposite to what
happened: I don’t think I’ve ever been further away with my guesses! In spite
of this, the twist made sense and came together properly- there weren’t any
massive gaps in the plot line and I wasn’t too overwhelmed by it all.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot – it had a relatively
quick pace and the characters were really quite likeable. I got through the
book over the course of a few days, reading here and there on the bus to and
from my work, and I found that it was really easy to put the book down and then
just pick it back up a few days later. It was one of those books that was kind
of addictive- nothing particularly alarming happened over the course of it, but
I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading and looking forward to
picking it back up. I was waiting for one of my predictions to happen (of
course, they didn’t) and had to keep going back to see if they would. The
relationships forged in the books made sense and everything seemed to flow
really well- I was slightly confused by the actions of one particular character
- there just didn’t seem much point to him – but that’s just my personal
opinion and it definitely didn’t affect the overall quality of the book.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book and I’ll
be looking out for other books by Susie in the future. Have you read Missing, Presumed? What did you think
of it? Let me know in the comments!
3.5/5
