Missing, Presumed
Ratings18
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings18
Average rating3.5
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A page-turning mystery that brings to life a complex and strong-willed detective assigned to a high-risk missing persons case NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • NAMED ONE OF THE 10 BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL “An extraordinarily assured police procedural in the tradition of Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George.”—Joseph Finder, author of The Fixer “Surprise-filled . . . one of the most ambitious police procedurals of the year. Detective Bradshaw’s biting wit is a bonus.”—The Wall Street Journal “Missing, Presumed has future BBC miniseries written all over it.”—Redbook “A highly charismatic and engaging story.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This combination of police procedural and an unfolding family drama that continuously twists and turns will work well for fans of Kate Atkinson and Tana French.”—Booklist At thirty-nine, Manon Bradshaw is a devoted and respected member of the Cambridgeshire police force, and though she loves her job, what she longs for is a personal life. Single and distant from her family, she wants a husband and children of her own. One night, after yet another disastrous Internet date, she turns on her police radio to help herself fall asleep—and receives an alert that sends her to a puzzling crime scene. Edith Hind—a beautiful graduate student at Cambridge University and daughter of the surgeon to the Royal Family—has been missing for nearly twenty-four hours. Her home offers few clues: a smattering of blood in the kitchen, her keys and phone left behind, the front door ajar but showing no signs of forced entry. Manon instantly knows that this case will be big—and that every second is crucial to finding Edith alive. The investigation starts with Edith’s loved ones: her attentive boyfriend, her reserved best friend, her patrician parents. As the search widens and press coverage reaches a frenzied pitch, secrets begin to emerge about Edith’s tangled love life and her erratic behavior leading up to her disappearance. With no clear leads, Manon summons every last bit of her skill and intuition to close the case, and what she discovers will have shocking consequences not just for Edith’s family but for Manon herself. Suspenseful and keenly observed, Missing, Presumed is a brilliantly twisting novel of how we seek connection, grant forgiveness, and reveal the truth about who we are. Praise for Missing, Presumed “Smart, stylish . . . Manon is portrayed with an irresistible blend of sympathy and snark. By the time she hits bottom, professionally and privately, we’re entirely caught up in her story.”—The New York Times Book Review “Nuanced suspense that’s perfect for Kate Atkinson fans.”—People “Drenched in character and setting, with pinpoint detail that breathes life and color into every sentence.”—The News & Observer “You might come to Missing, Presumed for the police procedural; you’ll stay for the layered, authentic characters that Steiner brings to life.”—Bethanne Patrick, NPR “Where [Susie] Steiner excels is in the depth and clarity with which she depicts her characters. . . . It all adds up to a world that feels much bigger than the novel in which it is contained.”—The Guardian
Featured Series
2 primary booksDS Manon Bradshaw is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2016 with contributions by Susie Steiner.
Reviews with the most likes.
After the tightly woven Lie Tree, I found this book even more painful than I would have otherwise – Missing, Presumed is basically the opposite: loose ends are left everywhere, including subplots, dropped characters and thematic references.
Look, Missing, Presumed is a perfectly workable beach mystery (although honestly, I think there are better pulp mysteries; I found every twist pretty telegraphed.) But it's clear Steiner's aiming to be the next Tana French with thematic elements woven into the mystery and the life of the investigators paralleling the investigation. However, I found the thematic elements lacked a coherent arc; it's clear that Steiner wants to explore the idea of families of choice (one detective “adopts” an elderly woman with Parkinson's, while another adopts a tween) and independence versus loneliness, but I just didn't find that there were much said other than the repetition of these elements.
But where things really fell flat for me was the lack of coherent narrative. The two major suspects are basically completely coincidentally connected to the case. Tony Wright? Investigated because they are investigating “all criminals in the area with similar MOs” (even though he's the only one ever mentioned) and he has an alibi that feels very pat. I was so confused by the detective's insistence that he was involved that I searched the ebook for his name not once, but twice to try to figure out what he was missing. Similarly, the person who got connected with the case because he was a dead body who turned up in a different area of town at a different time? Meanwhile, an extremely suspicious character that had a physical fling with Edith the night she disappeared is never mentioned or interviewed again. It was clear Steiner started with an ending and worked backwards to introduce her key characters without the theory of mind of how readers would perceive this.
So, ultimately, two stars mean it was readable without being actively painful, but I basically only finished it because I happened to be on vacation and it was on my computer from the library.
I'm always excited at the prospect of a character-driven police procedural (especially if it's British) and Missing, Presumed did not disappoint. The plot centers around a young woman who has gone missing after a night of carousing at her local university pub. Not an out-of-the-ordinary case, except that the missing woman is Edith Hind, only daughter of Sir Ian Hind, physician to the royal family. There were signs of a struggle at her home – broken glasses, blood, and tipped over furniture – but no ransom demands and no contact from Edith herself. The story itself plays fairly close to the traditional missing person mystery with lots of suspects, false leads, and juicy family secrets, but what really made it stand out were the wonderful characters.
The book is told from multiple perspectives, allowing the reader to get to know each character intimately. You hear all of their thoughts about the case, their boss, their significant others (including some particularly painful blind dates), and each other. Manon, the main character, is portrayed as both a tough and capable detective. At the same time, however, we get to see peeks at her private life, like her disastrous attempts at online dating. Davy, her partner, is an eternally optimistic man who worries about the plight of at-risk youth in the system and hides the miserable relationship he's in with his long-time girlfriend. Even more minor characters are fully fleshed out and you get a good sense of what the squad room is like.
Despite being a rather traditional mystery, this book touched on some social issues like at-risk youth and how they're shuttled through the system, the self-absorption and “cause hopping” of the idle rich, and the reasons some people turn to crime as a way of life. One thing I found particularly interesting was the reflection on how high profile cases are handled differently and whether that has an effect on the outcome of the case.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and I'm hopeful that this is the first book in a coming series.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.)
