Eden and Niall Paternoster start their Sunday the same way they always do – with a long drive and a visit to a National Trust country house.
But this Sunday ends differently. Eden insists on a quick nip into the local supermarket on the way home to buy cat litter.
Niall waits patiently in the car park for her to return. But she doesn’t. And she’s not at home. None of her friends or family have heard from her.
Enter Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to investigate. With no body, no trace, no crime, there is little to go on. He soon realises that nothing is quite as it seems.
This is the 17th book in the Roy Grace series and my first read. This latest offering is set in the sleepy beautiful Brighton and West Sussex area of England.
Grace and his wife Cleo are going through some tough personal stuff.
This sub-story going on simultaneously in Grace’s private life is distressing, insightful and relevant, especially in these Covid times.
Peter James is a must-read author for anyone who loves a good crime novel.
From the outset I didn’t trust the husband but some of the other characters also appeared to have something to hide which kept me guessing as the detectives unveiled secrets in an unexpected way.
Repetition is annoying but inevitable as is the improbability that the police would use so many resources to find one missing person. Fast-paced, suspenseful with methodical police procedure and a touch of psychology there are many twists and turns in this book, until the climactic conclusion.