‘What now? She had to disappear. Her body. Her computer. All DNA evidence had to vanish.’
Twelve years ago, journalist Joanna Duncan disappeared after exposing a political scandal. Her mother Bev is still hoping for answers and approached Private Investigator Kate Marshall to investigate. Kate’s fledgling private investigation agency is happy to take on the case: the biggest one that she and partner Tristan Harper have taken on so far.
Kate and Tristan are given access to the original case files and start following the same leads. But amongst Joanna’s personal effects finds the names of two young men. Investigation reveals that those two young men had also vanished without a trace. Could this be related to the political scandal Joanna uncovered before she disappeared?
Before establishing her private investigation agency, Kate was a detective and criminology lecturer. She has a holiday caravan business to run as well: fortunately, her 18-year-old son Jake will be spending his summer holidays with her to help. Tristan, who still works part time at the university, has some issues of his own to deal with, including a very protective sister. Between them, Kate and Tristan track down several key witnesses from twelve years earlier. What was Joanna investigating when she disappeared? And how are the missing men linked? The story unfolds, with a couple of unexpected twists, to a surprising (and satisfying) ending.
This is the third book in Mr Bryndza’s Kate Marshall series. I have not (yet) read the first two books.
Recommended.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large 