TEST
A noble hero, near-perfect in looks and conduct, is easy to admire. However, I have to admit that well-drawn characters who are rougher around the edges draw my attention just as easily.
After losing his job as a police officer, Dylan Scott’s marriage imploded and his wife has kicked him out. To compound things, Dylan’s flighty mother moved in with him, and he is desperate to get out of the tight living quarters he now shares with her. In Presumed Dead, we spend lots of time with this disgraced cop turned private detective and go along with him on a case that uncovers more than one set of mysterious doings.
We learn at the beginning of the story that a young woman, convinced that Dylan is the best there is, wants to hire him to find out what happened to her mother. The girl’s mother, Anita Champion, went out one night and never returned. Now a young woman, the girl was raised by her rather grim aunt and, while the aunt is convinced that Anita was no good and simply abandoned the child, Dylan’s would-be employer believes that something more sinister happened. Though reluctant to take the case, Dylan allows himself to be talked into it, and he sets out for the dreary northern English town of Dawson’s Clough where everything took place.
When Dylan arrives, he figures out quickly that the investigation into Anita’s disappearance was sketchy at best. The police, just like Anita’s sister, simply assumed she had taken off and left her daughter behind. However, as Dylan begins to question those who knew Anita, he starts discovering that Anita’s friends kept some secrets. As he digs deeper into the mystery, he starts uncovering a fascinating tangled web. Anita’s disappearance is not the only sinister or unexplained occurence in Dawson’s Clough and there’s a lot stewing beneath the surface of the little town.
Dylan is a methodical investigator and, while his journey from lead to lead could have grown dull, it really does not. Dylan uncovers lots of interesting material and I found myself trying to piece together the puzzle alongside him. Dylan goes from person to person in Dawson’s Clough and he manages the rare accomplishment of interviewing them in ways that do not feel stilted to a reader. I almost felt as though I was right there witnessing some of these conversations, leaning forward in my chair to see what witnesses would say and I found pages flying by as the collective secrets of Anita Champion and Dawson’s Clough made for a rather addictive read.
The author sometimes switches the action to show the perspectives of other characters, so at times readers have more information than the detective does. Still, I never got so far ahead of him that things grew tiresome. Every now and again, it would jolt me out of the story, but I never had trouble sinking back in again. The interrelationships between the people in the town are almost as intriguing as the mystery itself and the author lets readers piece together images of Dawson’s Clough in bits and snatches. The setting is most definitely not a generic one, and it gave the story a brooding mood which matched Dylan Scott’s character well indeed.
Though this is definitely not a romance, readers get to see some of the interactions between Dylan and his estranged wife. As Dylan investigates his case, he also seems to start doing a better job of figuring himself out. While I sometimes grew impatient with how slowly he realized what was really happening in his home life, I liked his character enough to want to see him grow and change. Readers will see that his dismissal from the police force set him on a downward spiral and, in finding out what happened to Anita Champion, one can also see Dylan starting to reclaim his own life bit by bit. He still has a ways to go, and I hope I get to read more books about him.
Grade: B
Book Type: Suspense
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 27/08/10
Publication Date: 2010/07
I enjoy spending as much time as I can between the covers of a book, traveling through time and around the world. When I'm not having adventures with fictional characters, I'm an attorney in Virginia and I love just hanging out with my husband, little man, and the cat who rules our house.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.