Gone without a trace

3.5 stars. Missing, Presumed starts with Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw at yet another lackluster internet date. It’s an interesting way to start a mystery novel. I think it was meant to be cringe-funny, but I only found myself cringing. I think Steiner was probably trying to introduce us to our main character outside of work so we’d get a broader picture of who she is. Manon’s someone without a lot of close ties and so lonely that she listens to her police scanner for fun. When a case gets called in, she shows up quickly. The benefits of having a police scanner in your bedroom I suppose.

The police have been called to Edith Hind’s flat. There’s blood, an ajar front door, and no trace of Edith. She seems to have disappeared into thin air. Her best friend and boyfriend are both more than a little freaked out. When they find out Edith is the daughter of well-connected parents, it’s all the police can do to try to keep up with the frenzy.

For the most part, I liked Missing, Presumed. I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator was great. I probably liked this more than if I had just read a physical copy. Juanita McMahon’s narration was never distracting and her voices/acting were perfection.

The reason I didn’t rate this higher was because of some weird tonal shifts between Manon’s personal life and her work. It sometimes felt like two different stories and the personal life got a little long-winded towards the middle/end. I wish we had seen more of her working to be honest. She’s supposedly a good copper, but we hardly got to see that side of her. Most of her work was the more mundane, procedural work.

I think I’ll definitely give the sequel a try though. I want to see how Manon’s character develops and I usually end up liking books later in mystery series more than the first. Hopefully it’ll be the same with Steiner’s DS Manon series.