Review: Missing, Presumed (DS Manon #1) by Susie Steiner

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1018 KB
• Print Length: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (July 5 2016)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers CA
• Language: English
• ASIN: B018QMZR24

Book Description

For readers of Kate Atkinson and Tana French comes a page-turning literary mystery that brings to life the complex and wholly relatable Manon Bradshaw, a strong-willed detective assigned to a high-risk missing persons case.

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. One night, after yet another disastrous internet date, she turns on her police radio to help herself fall asleep, but she soon receives an alert that sends her to a serious crime scene.

Edith Hind—a beautiful graduate student and daughter of the Royal Family’s surgeon—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 with no signs of forced entry.

The investigation starts with Edith’s loved ones: her attentive boyfriend, her reserved best friend, and 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 before 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, reveal the truth about who we are.

******

 Mid-December, and Cambridgeshire is blanketed with snow. Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw tries to sleep after yet another soul-destroying Internet date – the low murmuring of her police radio her only solace.

Over the airwaves come reports of a missing woman – door ajar, keys and phone left behind, a spatter of blood on the kitchen floor. Manon knows the first 72 hours are critical: you find her, or you look for a body. And as soon as she sees a picture of Edith Hind, a Cambridge post-graduate from a well-connected family, she knows this case will be big.

Is Edith alive or dead? Was her ‘complex love life’ at the heart of her disappearance, as a senior officer tells the increasingly hungry press? And when a body is found, is it the end or only the beginning?

*****

Missing, Presumed is fast-paced, twisty and full of realistic characters and scenarios. With any luck Detective Bradshaw will be back in future instalments, since she is a quirky, likable character, capable of carrying a series. (Vancouver Sun)^[Steiner] gets inside the minds and lives of her book’s socially disparate personalities with the grace of a novelist of manners, even as she pulls tight the strands of one of the most ambitious police procedurals of the year. (The Wall Street Journal)^This novel stands out from the pack. . . . A highly charismatic and engaging story. (Kirkus (starred review))^A vein of dark humor pulses beneath this compelling whodunit with an appealing, complicated heroine at its center. (Publishers Weekly)^Where Steiner excels is in the depth and clarity with which she depicts her characters. Manon is sad and lonely, estranged from her sister and something of a misanthrope. But she’s also funny and clever, and interesting. I defy you not to fall for her. (The Observer (Thriller of the Month))^Steiner’s engrossing, gripping and wry prose, beautifully detailed storytelling and the wonderfully drawn DS Manon Bradshaw elevate this missing person novel into something quite spectacular and deeply satisfying. (Red Online)^This clever, witty novel is one of those rare books that marries excellent writing and memorable characters with an absorbing plot and a startling twist. (Sunday Express)^Susie Steiner knows how to capture the reader’s attention, keep her enthralled and sign off neatly. Missing, Presumed is an excellent crime novel. (Literary Review)^Missing, Presumed is an extraordinarily assured police procedural in the tradition of Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George--the surprises continue to the last page as Steiner blasts expectations and assumptions to dig deep into questions of trust, betrayal, class, and family bonds. Dazzling. (Joseph Finder, New York Times-bestselling author of Paranoia and Company Man)^The mystery behind Edith Hind’s disappearance is filled to the hilt with provocative breadcrumbs, making for a page-turning literary crime novel that is nicely balanced by the all-too-relatable human foibles of lonely Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw. A complex, gripping read! (Suzanne Rindell, author of The Other Typist and Three-Martini Lunch)^An intriguing mix of light and shade. Missing, Presumed is held in place by DS Manon Bradshaw: a messed-up, big-hearted detective in the best tradition. (Harriet Lane, author of Her and Alys, Always)^Detective Manon Bradshaw is appealing, multi-faceted, and unforgettable. She charges through Missing, Presumed with twin goals--to find the body, and to find durable love. The resolution of this gripping novel astonishes and leaves a long afterglow.” (Amity Gaige, author of Schroder)^Within a chapter, DS Manon Bradshaw announces herself as a detective to follow through books and books to come. A treat in store for those who love their crime fiction rich in psychology, beautifully written and laced with dark humour. Dive in. (Lucie Whitehouse, author of Before We Met and The Bed I Made)  

About the Author

 http://www.susiesteiner.co.uk/

 Susie grew up in north London, studied English at university and trained as a journalist. She worked in newspapers for 20 years, 11 of them on staff at The Guardian. Her first novel, Homecoming, was published by Faber & Faber to critical acclaim in 2013. Her second, Missing, Presumed was a Sunday Times bestseller which introduced detective Manon Bradshaw. It was a Richard & Judy book club pick and has sold 200,000 copies to date in the UK. Missing, Presumed was selected as one of the Guardian’s, Wall Street Journal’s and NPR's standout books of 2016. It was longlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year. Persons Unknown, the sequel to Missing, Presumed, is her third novel. She has written extensively about losing her eyesight to Retinitis Pigmentosa (click the 'journalism' tab for these articles). She lives in London with her husband and two children and is currently working on a third Manon Bradshaw mystery.


My Review

  Missing, Presumed is the first book in the DS Manon series by Susie Steiner. This is the first book of Steiner's that I have read. I heard a lot about this book last year and was thrilled to pick up a Kindle version for $1.99 on Amazon during a sale.

I am a fan of British mysteries and of police procedurals and really enjoyed Missing, Presumed. DS Manon Bradshaw is a single 39 year old woman whose personal life we follow as well as her professional life. The setting is mid-December in Cambridgeshire. A graduate student, who happens to be the daughter of the Royal Family's doctor, is missing and Manon's team is on the case. Missing, Presumed had quite a few twists and I found the story to be enthralling.

I enjoyed Missing, Presumed and am planning on reading Persons Unknown the second book in the series next. Well written and thoroughly enjoyable, I highly recommend Missing, Presumed.