While a student at Stratford-upon-Avon Chinese student Min Li has been kidnapped and kept in an underground room. Can Detective Inspector Jackman and his team find her before she dies.
An interesting mystery and a good solid start to the series. ( )

More 3.5 than 3 stars

I looked forward to reading this after really enjoying Jane Isaacs previous novel The Truth Will Out and while not disappointed found this was less engaging. The blurb gives you all you need to know about the basic plot, although there is a sub plot involving dead girls which complicates the search for Min Li as it is never clear whether the police are investigating one case or two. It was a good read but it just seemed to miss the mark that transformed it from good to a page turner.

To be fair I read a lot of crime/thrillers which means that I am probably far more critical than most readers. I also suspect that having recently read some pretty exceptional thrillers this also paid the price of being compared unfavourably.

So to sum up, a good solid police procedural that just lacked that spark that takes it to the next level. But that is only my opinion.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in return for an honest review.




( )

Excellent book! Jane Isaac delivers this intriguing mystery with impeccable timing. The use of multiple narrators was very well done, allowing us to get to know both Min and Jackman, and occasionally another mysterious character that gets revealed near the end. Some authors of detective stories try so hard to make sure that the reader doesn’t figure things out until the very end, which can often leave gaping holes and details that make no sense when looking at the plot as a whole. This is not the case with this book – it all comes together in a way that feels right to the reader, even if it was slightly predictable. I would definitely recommend this book and would gladly read others by this author. ( )