I like Emma Kavanagh’s writing. There is something about the way she handles a police procedural that carries with it a sense of caring and humanity, even when the crimes she is writing about can be quite brutal. Selina and Ed Cole used to run their own highly thought of boutique company. The Cole Company specialises in Kidnap and Ransom, negotiating with kidnappers, liaising with insurance companies and advising commercial companies on how to avoid being kidnapped, as well as how to react if the unthinkable happened. Then Ed was killed after an attack in Colombia at a kidnap and ransom conference, and Selina has taken a back seat in the company ever since, leaving the day to day management to her sister in law Orla and her husband, Seth. Still grieving for her husband and struggling with depression, Selina now devotes herself to looking after their two young daughters, Heather and Tara. Then one day, while she is out at the playpark with the girls, she disappears and is missing for almost a day before she is found, shaken and cold and with no memory of what has happened to her. DC Leah Mackay from the Herefordshire Police force is assigned the case, but with no leads and nothing from Selina than can help, this is a mystery that should be put on the back burner when a local solicitor, Dominic Newell is found dead and all hands are required to work on the murder. Leah’s brother, newly promoted DS Finn Hale is put in charge of the murder investigation and Leah is able to use her sway with her brother to convince him that she should have a little leeway to pursue Selina’s disappearance and that her theory that the two incidents are connected is worthy of some consideration. Dominic Newell was Beck Chambers’ solicitor. Chambers is former soldier who served in Iraq with Ed Cole but who has had trouble re-entering normal society and who is plagued with drink and drug problems. He is an obvious suspect but there is nothing to pin him down and the case is throwing up a number of other suspects, not least of whom is Dominic’s partner, Isaac. Leah and Finn make a really good team. They understand each other and have their own shorthand which cuts through the normal police rivalries as well as providing different personality traits which allows them to work well as a team. Leah is predisposed to be empathetic. As a mother herself, she understands that it would take something out of the ordinary to walk away from two young children, leaving them alone and out of doors, yet she thinks Selina is lying. Finn needs to prove himself to his colleagues in CID as he takes on his first role as lead detective in a murder enquiry, and he can’t afford to make mistakes, so he is driven to make sure that this case goes by the book and he’s putting in the hours to make certain that he misses nothing. Yet although there seems to be a plethora of suspects, nothing really fits together sufficiently for Finn and Leah to make a compelling narrative of a murder and this case gets more complex as the investigation goes deeper. Kavanagh provides different narratives from Leah and Finn interspersed with case studies from the Cole Company which are fascinating in themselves and offer a glimpse into a world where cool heads are required if lives are to be saved. As Leah and Finn work together, the strands of the multi layered threads that Kavanagh has sewn begin to weave together to form a picture that will lead them to the answers they have been looking for. Intriguing, ingenious and original, The Missing Hours is a tremendously satisfying read and Leah and Finn are characters I’d really like to see more of.

Two police officers; brother and sister, working for the same force, but initially, at the beginning of The Missing Hours, they are on two separate cases. DC Leah Mackay is called out to investigate the case of a missing woman. Dr Selena Cole's two small children were found by the swings in the local park. They were alone, their mother had disappeared. Nobody saw her go. Meanwhile, Leah's brother, DS Finn Hale is responding to a report that a body has been found, dumped alongside a narrow road. Two seemingly separate, unconnected cases and the murder takes precedence, especially Selena Cole returns home after twenty hours of absence, she appears unharmed but disorientated. As far the the Police chiefs are concerned, the case is closed and Leah must join her brother to investigate what is now a murder case. Emma Kavanagh is a very gifted writer, her eye for detail and her impeccably created characters make The Missing Hours an absolute joy to read. As the two cases merge into one, the murky and mysterious world of Kidnap and Ransom is exposed to the reader. For me, this was a complete revelation. Yes, I know that there are many kidnaps around the world, especially in South America, but I had no idea that there were professional people who made a living from negotiating with kidnappers and arranging ransom payments. Selena Cole and her late husband Ed ran a successful business. They responded to kidnap demands all over the world, liaising with organisations and insurance companies to ensure that hostages were released unharmed. Leah and Finn soon fit together the intricate pieces in these two cases that link them together, and Emma Kavanagh creates suspense and tension along the way. I had no idea what the outcome would be, which is always a huge bonus in a thriller, and the final chapters made my mouth dry and my heart pound. The Missing Hours is exceptionally detailed, intriguing and unusual. I was hooked from the very first chapter. An outstanding story with superb characters and an exciting plot.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did Falling and Hidden. In The Missing Hours, Mother Selena Cole has been missing for two hours. That's two hours away from her little girls. The two sisters were sitting in the playground, on the rain- sodden grass, just waiting for their mummy to return. It's been two hours and she hasn't come back. Something is very badly wrong here. Did Selena walk off or was she dragged away? Or is there another reason why and how Selena Cole went missing?