Love a great crime procedural and this doesn't disappoint. Gripping, darkly twisty and well constructed. Recommend!

Thanks to netgalley for the review copy of this riveting read. I haven't read anything by Ms Steiner before, and was pleasantly entertained by a thrilling read. Recommended.

I was really looking forward to this, having enjoyed the first Manon book. This one didn't grab me, sorry. The plot felt stretched and I couldn't work up much interest in what was happening to any of the characters. Nicely written on the whole, but a did not finish. Thanks for the opportunity to read.

Manon has settled back into life in Cambridgeshire, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for adopted son Fly. Whilst she’s perfectly happy working on cold cases, Fly is finding it difficult to fit in.

When a man is stabbed to death, it shocks Manon to realise the victim and the prime suspect are too close to home for comfort.

Can Manon put aside her feelings for her family for long enough to solve the case?

After not being entirely captivated by the first instalment in this series, I was happy enough to proceed to the second due to the brilliant protagonist. I find Manon to be highly relatable, and thoroughly enjoy her normalcy, and often comedic one liners.

As with the first, I felt this storyline was somewhat lacking and there doesn’t seem to be much punch for a book of the police procedural/crime genre. There is definitely more emphasis on the characters’ lives as opposed to the actual subject of the case.

I assume from the ending there is still more in store for DS Manon and her family, which I will be keen to continue with, but again if you like gritty crime this probably isn’t the one for you.

I read and enjoyed the first in the Manon Bradshaw series, so was keen to see what this second one was like. It certainly lived up to expectations. In this book Manon has relocated back to Huntingdon after a spell in the Met. When her sister's ex partner is found stabbed to death, circumstances lead to Manon's 12 year old adopted son being suspected of murder. The race is on to prove him innocent. I recommend this as a good read which will keep you guessing to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I loved Missing, Presumed so I was keen to read Persons Unknown. They are both written in the present tense which, if you read my blog regularly you will know, I usually find irritating. But for some unknown reason it didn’t bother me and as I read the books I completely forgot about the tense and was totally immersed in the mysteries. Persons Unknown is just as good, if not better than Missing, Presumed.

Although it’s the second Manon Bradshaw book I think it works well as a standalone book, particularly as her circumstances have changed since the end of the first book. She has moved from London to Cambridge and she and her adopted son Fly, aged twelve, are living with her sister Ellie, and Ellie’s nearly three-year-old son Solly. Fly is struggling to fit into school, a vast comprehensive school where he is the only black boy in the school, and Manon is five months pregnant and working on cold cases. She would have loved to be included in the investigation into the murder of Jon-Oliver Ross who was found stabbed to death in the local park. But that’s not possible when Ellie identifies him as Solly’s father and Fly is a suspect after he is spotted on CCTV near the body.

What I particularly like about this book is that it follows the events as they occur without flashbacks and although it’s a complicated story I found it easy to follow all the twists and turns and the multiple viewpoints. The characters are totally believable, their personalities clearly defined and explored with psychological depth. A number of issues are raised, such as the mix of work and home life, childcare and motherhood and racial prejudice. Manon, as the main character, stands out but some of the other characters, such as Birdie, the shopkeeper and Mark Talbot, a lawyer, who agrees to help Manon, are also memorable. At the same time it is tense and gripping as the events that led up to the murder are revealed.

Susie Steiner is currently writing the third Manon Bradshaw book – I hope it’ll be published soon!

Many thanks to The Borough Press/Harper Collins for a review copy via NetGalley.

I love a book that keeps you guessing throughout the storyline. Could it have been? Surely no? Then who?
Although it was a little slow to start for me, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Another enjoyable read from Susie Steiner. Reads well as a stand alone but definitely worth reading the first book in the series..Missing, Presumed.

I loved this book. It kept me hooked throughout. It’s the follow up to Missing, Presumed, which I also really enjoyed, but it can be read as a stand-alone story.
There were quite a lot of chapters which detailed the characters private lives which enabled the reader to really sympathise with them, especially as the case was personal to them all.
I would certainly recommend this as a light crime novel, nothing too hard core, with loveable characters

This is the 2nd book in the DS Manon Bradshaw series and I hope it won't be the last. It's well-written with strong, believable characters and a superb plot. It is part police procedural and part a human interest tale of injustice and emotional trauma.

The heroine - feisty, plain-speaking Manon, who is 5 months pregnant - lives with her adopted son Fly, her sister Ellie and toddler nephew Solly. As the story begins they have all recently moved from London to Cambridgeshire to make a new start and are struggling to maintain a balance between jobs and childcare. When Solly's father is murdered in a local park Manon is one of the investigating officers on the case, which causes complications when the chief suspect is named as someone very close to home.

I particularly enjoyed this world of complex, believable characters, especially the chapters which followed Birdie and Angel, two women of diverse personalities who are connected to the murder case and are thrown together by circumstance. Their differences did not prevent them from developing a great relationship.

Most of the plot lines are resolved by the end, some happily and others with sadness, as in real life. I hope there is another outing for Manon. Thank you publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

A well-dressed man bled to death just yards from a Cambridgeshire police headquarters. DI Manon Bradshaw would normally be involved but she's side-lined on cold cases - and then she finds that there's a solid reason why she can't be involved: Jon-Oliver Ross was the father of her sister's son and he was probably in town to see young Solly. And if that wasn't close enough, her adopted son, Fly, was caught on CCTV passing the man just as he was about to collapse. Detective Superintendent Stanton is certain that Fly's good for the murder and won't tolerate any other avenues of investigation.

Twelve-year old Fly hadn't been happy since Manon, her sister Ellie, her son Solly and Fly left London for Huntingdon where Manon felt that black kids were not going to be stopped and searched on a regular basis. He's been bullied at school and he's missing Cricklewood but there's a further complication: Manon's pregnant. Whilst Manon believes that he's a good kid and that he wouldn't stab someone, the detective in her knows that there's room for doubt.

This is the second DI Manon Bradshaw police procedural and I was tempted to read it despite the fact that I hadn't read [[Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner|the first book]]. I didn't feel that this was a disadvantage as I got into the story fairly quickly and worked out who was who. There are some interesting characters, although they lack a little subtlety and the case develops well into some interesting areas such as money laundering and prostitution.

The story is reasonably well written although I found the emphasis on Manon Bradshaw a little annoying and some of it unnecessary. I put her tears down to pregnancy hormones - if she hadn't been pregnant I suspect that I would have found her particularly annoying, which perhaps contributed to the fact that I didn't find the book unputdownable. I had someone pencilled in for the murder, but was proved wrong, although I have to say that although the solution was ''possible'' I didn't find it entirely convincing. Would I read the next book in the series? Possibly.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

My friend Kathy Durkin, Kathy D in her comments, put me onto this author: she recommended the 2016 Missing, Presumed, and when I read it I could quite see why: it could have been just another police procedural about a girl who has disappeared (and there are plenty of them around) but it was so much more. And DI Manon Bradshaw is an excellent lead character.

In this one she has made considerable changes in her life since the end of the previous book, and is pregnant, and operating in Cold Cases in Huntingdon. A rich London banker visits the town and is murdered: Manon’s adopted son seems to be a vital witness – or something more?

It is a nasty and complicated story, and contains many features that sometimes concern me: multiple POVs, some first person and some third, use of the present tense, and a lot of detail about personal lives and relationships of the series characters. But I loved the book, raced through it, enjoying every moment of the complex investigation, Manon’s sometimes foolish moves, and the fears and mysteries in her own home.

The narrator of the top excerpt, Birdy, who owns the Payless Drink store, is a tour de force, I absolutely loved her:
We’ve all got our thing, haven’t we? I’m quite safe around a bottle of Chardonnay, I’ve been known to yawn in the face of pornography. Show me a shoe shop and I can walk on by. But salty snacks? I will MOW. YOU. DOWN.
And the sections with Davy, the young policeman, were also beautifully and sympathetically done.

The book is also funny. I like the woman who doesn’t want to move because ‘I’ve got a group of mums I feel comfortably ambivalent about, right here’.

And the young woman who is ‘maybe not supermodel beautiful, but she could definitely get paid to do a catalogue or the Marks & Sparks website.’

And Manon claiming to hate Saul Bellow: so what did she read by him?
‘Dunno, something with “Rabbit” in the title. Man it was boring.’
‘D’you mean Rabbit, Run?’
‘By John Updike?’
‘Yup.’
‘So have you ever read anything by Saul Bellow?’
‘I don’t think so, no.’




I think we’ve all been there.

So – a most enjoyable book, with excellent characters, and every hope for a long series about Manon Bradshaw. And hat-tip again to Kathy for the recommendation.

Manon is pregnant and back with Cambridge Police working cold cases. Her 12-year-old stepson is arrested for a murder. Following the case over the Christmas holidays, the story is seen from two viewpoints. Manon for the family drama and Davy Walker who was once her junior. There are lots of twists and turns, plenty of good characters and much to get your teeth into.

This is the follow on book to ‘Missing Presumed’. The story moves between Cambridgeshire and Kilburn/Cricklewood.
Manon is the Cornish name for ‘bitter’
I re-read the first book in the series to remind me of the storyline as it was quite some time since I had read it. Manon has moved back to Cambridgeshire from London and things do not go as well as she had hoped. A nasty murder becomes linked to her sister’s ex , who is the father of her son.
A complex web that despite Manon being on desk duty she is the person who tugs the the strands to find the inks and answers.
Nicely written at a steady pace, with believable emotions and crime solve time.

Another dark and complex storyline from this author, when you thought it was impossible for Manon' s life to get any more complicated it does, with bells on.
A very unique take on this genre, though not particularly successful

Having read Missing Presumed, I was exited to see Susie Steiner publishing a new book in the series. Like the first this book didn't disappoint.
In Persons Unknown we follow Manon Bradshaw in her move to Cambridge in the hope of finding a peaceful home for herself, her adopted son Fly and her new baby. She doesn't quite find the peace she needs and is soon searching for a murderer.
This book is gripping and easy to read, and it's nice to follow Manon's life as she moves on. Sadly the twist is expected and a bit more predictable than the first in the series but enjoyable nethertheless.