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.

Having read and enjoyed Susie Steiner’s debut novel Homecoming, I was excited to read her second, Missing, Presumed, and the first in a new crime series introducing police detective Manon Bradshaw.

I defy anyone not to completely fall for Manon Bradshaw. She’s brilliant. It’s such a shame she’s not real. Although she certainly feels real enough on the pages of Missing, Presumed. She’s frank and ballsy, brusque but vulnerable, clumsy yet perceptive. She finds it hard to leave her job behind at the end of a shift and falls asleep to the police radio on low volume. She’s refreshingly independent while also putting herself out there on a string of disastrous Internet dates; she wants some kind of social life leading to a home life but in the meantime doesn’t see why she needs to contemplate living like a nun.

Just as she does with Manon Bradshaw’s character, Susie Steiner builds a credible team around her, peopled not by stereotypes but those who are more like flawed and realistic human beings. One of the joys of this book is seeing the way that this team of officers is built up, where its strengths and potential weaknesses lie, and it’s a bit of a blow to discover that Manon’s plans might soon see her moving on to a new force. I’d got to know this one, and would be upset not to have at least some of them in any sequel.

While Manon Bradshaw’s team comes together, the family at the centre of their investigation is falling apart after Edith Hind, the daughter, goes missing. It’s fascinating seeing how each family member behaves under the pressure of their daughter’s disappearance and what that might mean for her but also to them, in terms of loss and exposure to public and press scrutiny. You sense there are secrets here waiting to be unearthed which might be more damaging than anything Edith is caught up in.

As it turns out, there’s an interesting range of current issues dealt with in Missing, Presumed, giving the novel real pertinence and an authentic contemporary feel. And we get to see the police in their public roles and during what little private lives they have during a time-sensitive investigation, which is one of my favourite aspects of the novel and one which I hope Susie Steiner continues through any subsequent novels in the proposed series. We see them out in the field and back at the station, juggling the pressures of the clock ticking on the case, budgets, manpower, long hours and tiredness and few leads or unhelpful witnesses. But we also see them when they are trying to gain a degree of normality in their lives and have a relationship, a family or, as in Manon’s case, start down that path. And this is what rounds out Missing, Presumed and makes it such an interesting first outing for Manon Bradshaw in this series. This is a promising start to a great literary crime series with a difference and I can’t wait to read what comes next.

This book kept me reading and one of the best crime novels I have read... cant wait to read the others in the series