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mystereity's review
5.0
Thrilling, compelling and gritty, Missing delves into the difficult subject of of child sexual abuse and its impact; not only for the victim, but also the family and the police officers assigned to investigate the case.
This will definitely be high on my favorite books of the year list, the finely woven plot unwound bit by bit, with lots of plot twists and red herrings that kept me guessing as the book raced towards the shocking finale.
The main character, Craig Hunter is a likeable guy. I mean, who wouldn't love a copper that would jump out a window into a tree to rescue a cat? I really enjoyed that scene, it made for a great start to the book. I also liked how well the characters from the Scott Cullen series were integrated into the story, adding more dimension to the characters I already knew (and loved.)
Overall, Missing is a dark, riveting, and memorable book with a strong plot that will draw you into the middle of the action. I defiintely recommend to anyone who enjoys police procedurals or just a good, old-fashioned hard-boiled mystery.
This will definitely be high on my favorite books of the year list, the finely woven plot unwound bit by bit, with lots of plot twists and red herrings that kept me guessing as the book raced towards the shocking finale.
The main character, Craig Hunter is a likeable guy. I mean, who wouldn't love a copper that would jump out a window into a tree to rescue a cat? I really enjoyed that scene, it made for a great start to the book. I also liked how well the characters from the Scott Cullen series were integrated into the story, adding more dimension to the characters I already knew (and loved.)
Overall, Missing is a dark, riveting, and memorable book with a strong plot that will draw you into the middle of the action. I defiintely recommend to anyone who enjoys police procedurals or just a good, old-fashioned hard-boiled mystery.
brettt's review
3.0
Ed James, who seems well on his way to becoming the Ed McBain of English and Scottish police procedurals, relies on color differently as he opens a new character series, following Police Constable Craig Hunter as he investigates crimes in Edinburgh. Hunter connects with one of James' other character series, featuring a higher-ranking officer named Scott Cullen, but Hunter's work is much more on the street level than Cullen's detective casework.
In 2016's Missing, we meet Hunter just before he begins the case hinted at by the title, as he engages in one of the many tasks people seem to expect of uniformed police officers -- rescuing an animal. But before he and his partner Finlay Sinclair can finish their shift, they are called to a domestic disturbance that will soon spiral out of control due to the secrets being kept by the family and some incompetence on the part of his fellow officers. Douglas Ferguson has been shut out of his house by his wife following an accusation of sexual abuse by her daughter Stephanie. Stephanie seems uncooperative and her mother is even less help, so when the girl goes missing Hunter and a superior officer, Detective Sergeant Chantal Jain, face enormous pressure to find her and avoid the hailstorm of condemnation the department has coming for losing Stephanie in the first place.
James paints most of his color in his dialogue, peppering it heavily with expressions and lingo common to Edinburgh and other idioms used by their law enforcement. The dogged police work is the same as might be found in any precinct anywhere, but the different words and the ubiquitous closed-circuit television surveillance available to the officers sets these flatfeet apart from their stateside counterparts.
The final resolution of the mystery is a little convoluted and some mighty big coincidences link our characters to the case and to each other, but Missing still manages to open up a case so that the readers who look in can follow along despite some of the strange Scottish sayings he or she may encounter, and the characters draw enough interest to prompt some return visits.
Original available here.
In 2016's Missing, we meet Hunter just before he begins the case hinted at by the title, as he engages in one of the many tasks people seem to expect of uniformed police officers -- rescuing an animal. But before he and his partner Finlay Sinclair can finish their shift, they are called to a domestic disturbance that will soon spiral out of control due to the secrets being kept by the family and some incompetence on the part of his fellow officers. Douglas Ferguson has been shut out of his house by his wife following an accusation of sexual abuse by her daughter Stephanie. Stephanie seems uncooperative and her mother is even less help, so when the girl goes missing Hunter and a superior officer, Detective Sergeant Chantal Jain, face enormous pressure to find her and avoid the hailstorm of condemnation the department has coming for losing Stephanie in the first place.
James paints most of his color in his dialogue, peppering it heavily with expressions and lingo common to Edinburgh and other idioms used by their law enforcement. The dogged police work is the same as might be found in any precinct anywhere, but the different words and the ubiquitous closed-circuit television surveillance available to the officers sets these flatfeet apart from their stateside counterparts.
The final resolution of the mystery is a little convoluted and some mighty big coincidences link our characters to the case and to each other, but Missing still manages to open up a case so that the readers who look in can follow along despite some of the strange Scottish sayings he or she may encounter, and the characters draw enough interest to prompt some return visits.
Original available here.
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