I am becoming a huge Simon Mason fan and cannot wait for the next in ‘the two Wilkins’ series. Missing Person Alice lacks the humour and pace of the other books, but nevertheless is an intelligent and absorbing read, in the sense that the writing is so good. In fact, if I had one criticism it would be that the book is a little short and easily devoured in a day! I shall read the next one.

Thank you to the publishers for this unexpected review copy. Pleased to report that I loved it. Great mystery and no I did not solve it! Absolutely loving this new series!

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. Our narrator, 'the Finder' of the series, is an Iraqi-born former police detective who assists police forces in finding missing people. 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, 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. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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.

Missing Person: Alice is an intriguing mystery with a unique premise. The atmospheric writing draws you in, creating a sense of suspense throughout. However, the story feels a bit slow-paced, and the character development could have been deeper. While the mystery holds some surprises, it ultimately lacks the emotional depth and complexity needed to leave a lasting impact. A decent read for fans of atmospheric, slower-paced thrillers!!