Monday, February 19, 2018

Susie Steiner, Persons Unknown ***

Persons Unknown is the follow-up to Missing, Presumed, featuring most of the same characters (excluding the wrongdoers, of course). It leans more heavily on the domestic drama than Missing, Presumed did: in this one, Manon is pregnant and largely on the sidelines of the case. The frankness with which the characters reveal their insecurities is the most distinctive aspect of both books.

The murder victim is Manon's sister's ex-husband, which doesn't really fit with the rest of his background story but is necessary so that the plot can make Manon's adopted son the prime suspect. As in Missing, Presumed, the most interesting character is a tangential one: in Missing, Presumed it was the missing girl's mother; in Persons Unknown it's the shopkeeper who shelters the girl at the center of the mystery.

And boy, they sure seem to have CCTV cameras everywhere in Britain!

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