Missing Person: Alice (The Finder Mysteries) (Finder Series Book 1) By Simon Mason
I really enjoyed this My only gripe was the references to the book the Finder was reading I do hope his reading matter won t be some kind of allegory commentary on each missing person in the series On to book 2. Pleased to see something new I started this with excitement but quickly found it to be a very different proposition from the aforementioned series A slow moving story begins written with a very noir style as we meet the finder an Iraqi ex policeman looking at cold cases. As he slowly and deliberately works back through the case of the missing Alice.
The first in a series featuring Talib a refugee from Iraq and a private investigator specialising in finding missing persons. The investigator describes the locations of his investigation meticulously which is a good selling point for a series that will move around the country In this first case Alice a teenager disappears around Sevenoaks and the investigation encompasses Kemsing and the Weald of Kent In his down time Talib reads What Maisie Knew by Henry James the story of which provides insight into the character and possible motivations of Alice. The characters Talib meets are well drawn and believable The mystery takes a few twists and turns We get a glimpse of Talib s backstory but I guess this will gradually be sketched in over the series Kindle Edition I only requested this book because I wanted to read the next book in the series then I saw that it was based around Sevenoaks in Kent which is very close to where I live so I thought I would request this too. When a young girl s body is found in a lake near Sevenoaks there is evidence linking her to a local man Vince Burns Mr Burns is relishing the notoriety and seems keen to imply that there may be other victims he seems to want to be a famous serial killer Nine years ago a twelve year old girl called Alice Johnson went missing while on her paper round and her body was never found The local police call on the Finder to find Alice s body and hopefully pin her murder on Vince Burns. As the Finder retraces Alice s steps and reinterviews anyone who knew her then he finds a child of great contradictions Where des the truth lie This is a difficult book to categorise Its a quiet thoughtful measured detective story with the Finder trying to get inside Alice s head just as much as following clues and re interviewing people He also analyses the people he interviews to assess their credibility We often say people piece together the evidence and that is a very good way of describing this detective process Nothing felt like a leap of imagination or something obscure mentioned in passing everything followed logically including a few blind alleys. Overall he manages to eke out information and threads his predecessors did notThe story plays out well though I didn t enjoy the constant reference to a book the protagonist was reading The finale is a well written surprise. I have been granted access to the 2nd Novella which I originally planned to read in quick succession but with the meandering pace of this one I ll need a couple of books in between before returning. By no means a book I didn t enjoy just after a grim read that lacks any pace or humour it s nice to take a break before being drawn back into the dark Kindle Edition My thanks to the Author publisher s and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review. A quality book clever intelligent storytelling well written with superb characters throughout particularly our cool calm lead Engaging and interesting from first to last page with surprises along the way especially the ultimate twist which I am pleased to say I worked out. Completely recommended Kindle Edition
| Missing Person: Alice (The Finder Mysteries) (Finder Series Book 1) By Simon Mason |
| 1529425964 |
| 9781529425963 |
| English |
| 229 |
| Kindle Edition |
Simon Mason was born in Sheffield Yorkshire on 5 February 1962 He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall Oxford He splits his time between writing at home and a part time editorial position with David Fickling Books an imprint of Random House and publisher of his 2011 childrens novel Moon Pie. He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers The Quigleys Highly Commended in the UKs Branford Boase Award The Quigleys at Large The Quigleys Not for Sale and The Quigleys in a Spin He has also written three adult novels. Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children Simon Mason was born in Sheffield Yorkshire on 5 February 1962 He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall Oxford He splits his time between writing at home and a part time editorial position with David Fickling Books an imprint of Random House and publisher of his 2011 children s novel Moon Pie. He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers The Quigleys Highly Commended in the UK s Branford Boase Award The Quigleys at Large The Quigleys Not for Sale and The Quigleys in a Spin He has also written three adult novels: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley Kindle Edition As a big fan of the Ryan Wilkins series it was a no brainer to request the new novellas from Simon Mason: Our narrator the Finder of the series is an Iraqi born former police detective who assists police forces in finding missing people. 00 she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by pass At 11. Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children site_link.