An intersting story, with some surprising twists. Was sitting on my shelf for too long. A good read.

An engaging psychological mystery about a young woman who is reported missing. She leaves behind her coat, mobile phone and a trail of blood. The hunt to find her is in the hands of the Cambridgeshire MIT team and a nationwide search begins.

‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!’ The plot is quite a slow burner, it draws you in gradually and then the pace picks up. It’s very much character driven and delves into human relationships and psyche. I enjoy a mystery which has a human interest rather than one that contains gory murder scenes so this one fits the bill for me. I prefer a conundrum and this one was certainly puzzling! There are a few red herrings and the conclusion is a surprising one, albeit a little far fetched.

An enjoyable and compelling story which had me eagerly turning the pages. I look forward to reading more by Susie Steiner.

Twenty four year old Cambridge student Edith Hind is missing. She’s the daughter of Sir Ian Hind, a distinguished doctor to the royal family. Her boyfriend arrived home to find the front door left wide open and signs of a struggle including a broken glass, blood, and coats in disarray. She was last seen by her best friend Helena when she helped Edith get home after a drunken night at the pub.

Detective Sergeant (DS) Manon Bradshaw is on the case. She leads the investigation with her team including Davy, her partner. (side note: Davy is one of my favorite characters. It’s so fun to see Manon from his perspective). Manon is thirty nine and deep in the internet dating game falling a bit on the desperate side. She’s insecure, lonely, and vulnerable. She has some interesting quirks and ends up being quite likable despite all her flaws. It makes her appear more real.

The investigation holds an enormous amount of pressure over Manon and her colleague’s heads with the prominent family and media closely examining their every move. It could end up being a career making case for Manon. There are plenty of red herrings, secrets, lies, and twists. The thing is if you’re expecting a full blown mystery, you should know this is one of those very character driven stories. It ends up being more of a character study than a crime novel. Yes, it is police procedural, but it really explores the characters behind the scenes more than anything.

Missing, Presumed alternates between numerous perspectives including Manon’s partner Davy, Edith’s mother Miriam, Edith’s best friend Helena, and Manon. Though it maintains a third person POV throughout. This helps to add enlightenment on every person involved in the case.

In the end, this was a very strong debut. I do wish I had known to expect less mystery than I originally thought when picking this up. The fact that it focuses more on the characters makes the pacing a bit slower than I had planned for. If you go in with the right idea, I think it’d be even more enjoyable. The characters are excellent and very well-developed. If this turns into a series (think Tana French), I'd be excited to see Manon and her colleagues again- especially Davy- and to dive deeper into Susie Steiner’s characters.

I do not usually read this genre of books however this could be a game changer for me. I do look forward to reading more from Susie.

Missing, presumed

If you want to read literary fiction but love crime novels then this is the book for you. A perfect marriage of these two, plus a poetic streak.........."The track is bordered by logs, sawn ends forming a honeycomb grid. Their tyres plough through mud, which splinters with ice in places. The light lowers a notch, soaked up by the seaweed-gloss leaves on a row of bushes –rhododendrons, Davy says –ribboned with snow.'......for those of us who like imagery it tips a novel into a film in your head.

Every character is real, there are no two dimensional folk in this story, some you like, some not so much, a few feel like well known colleagues or friends by the conclusion. The chapters are split between several characters and you do have to concentrate when reading this drama or you may, at first, get a bit confused. It isn't really something you dip in and out of and if it is a holiday read then make sure you have a day spare.

This is an enjoyable "police procedural" type crime thriller featuring a number of dysfunctional characters, both within the police major incident team and the suspects / witnesses, but they are exceptionally well-portrayed dysfunctional characters who became so real they practically leap off the page.

Although entirely written in the 3rd person we followed several of the main characters by chapter heading, seeing things from their point of view. Each character has their own distinct peculiarities, flaws, opinions and style of speech, much as in real life. I love that all the characters, even the minor players, are so distinctive. and realistic.

The plot was strong, and although characters sometimes did daft things their actions always had a reason or a direction (however misguided), again, just like in real life. The ending was satisfying.

I would recommend this and will certainly read other books by this author.

A good crime mystery is defined by its detective. Manon Bradshaw is a complex, compelling creature who ensures you keep turning the pages even when the plot is a little pedestrian in parts.

I liked the carefully layered plot, which gradually gives the reader more pieces in the jigsaw, only to add tragic events and new characters which complicate rather than inform. It would have been so easy to write a sensationalised ending but 'Missing, Presumed', stays true to its credible roots and is believable. The story's women's fiction element is strong and makes it worth reading.The suspense is well written but this is more about familial relationships and friendships than criminals.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Enjoyed this book a lot, so much so that I will be buying the next in the series!! Well written storyline with likeable characters.

A great start to what I hope will develop into a series.

I'm sorry to say I won't be able to review this book after all. I wasn't able to stay interested in it. Thank you for the opportunity.

Intriguing read. A mystery which I couldn't wait to discover how it unfolded. Took rather a long time to finally reach a conclusion

There seemed to be a lot of pages for a smallish story......I quite liked the characters but it did all go on rather longer than I liked. Ok though and perfect for a holiday read.

Sorry I couldn't review this as it wouldn't download properly to my kindle.

A thriller to watch out for definitely! Good pacing, interesting characters, and a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I found this book very difficult to get through. I put it down and picked it back up many times before finally, FINALLY finishing it. I can't say I enjoyed it as it seemed a real chore getting through it. I'm not a fan of the detective/DS/DCI aspect of crime thrillers, and this was no exception. It was a bit boring for me, and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I thought this was a great crime novel! The story is told by the individual characters themselves, this gives the reader a much broader perspective of each character and makes you feel like you know them quite well.
A beautiful young girl goes missing from her home, the front door is found wide open, possible evidence of a struggle, shattered wine glass, what can possibly have happened? There are so many puzzle pieces to fit together and twists and turns you do not expect which makes this book very exciting. There is also a fair amount of humour present to lighten the atmosphere! All in all a really good read. Enjoy!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Absolute page turner. Would recommend

Dear HarperCollins Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, due to the large number of titles forwarded to me by various publishers, I'm not going to be in a position to read this book. Thanks once again and I hope to read and review many other HarperCollins titles in future. Thanks. Kim. The Buzzing Bookmark

I really liked this book. The plot was good and the characterisation well thought with depth added so you got to know the characters. In fact the story was as much about the people involved as the crime which made it a bit different to the usual crime procedurals. Manon the female officer I really warmed to even if she was obviously flawed. There were some great twists and turns in the plot with a satisfactory ending. This certainly is an author to watch for the future!.
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing me with an arc in return for an honest review.

The flawed and very human character of DS Manon Bradshaw is so well portrayed. She is single and failing at dating. You do begin to empathise with her. Her relationship with DC Davy Walker is particularly well crafted.

The novel centres on a missing person, Edith Hind. Her absence is reported to the police by her boyfriend Will Carter. She has left their shared home with nothing. The novel explores the missing woman’s relationship with her boyfriend, family members and others with whom she has come into contact. Nothing is at it seems.

It would be a challenge to say more about the plot without creating spoilers. It is intricate, engrossing and well written. There are plenty of twists and turns. I very much enjoyed it.

ARC received from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.