Missing, Presumed: A Novel

I may be a ratings snob. I primarily read literary fiction, so when I want to cleanse my reading palate, I want to turn to something lighter, something less intellectually demanding. In practice, that means I turn to genre fiction: mystery, thriller, fantasy, science fiction (hold the romance, please). By this, I don't mean to say that there are no stimulating, thought-provoking, challenging works and authors in these genres, far from it; many of the best books I have ever read fall into these categories. But when it comes time to rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, most genre books don't seem to be playing on the same field as lit fic: seen one murder mystery, seen them all, right? Susie Steiner's Missing, Presumed explodes that preconception. Is it a mystery? Yes. Did I tear through it to find out what happened to Edith, Miriam's missing daughter? Yes. But nothing about Steiner's story can be described as cardboard or cookie-cutter. Alternating primarily between Miriam's point of view and that of lead investigator Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw, Steiner gives the reader two deeply drawn and relatable characters. Manon, with her Internet dating and police scanner sleep aid, is as lonely as Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallender but without the unending bleakness, and I hope Steiner's plan is to build a series around her and Detective Constable Davy Walker. (On the other hand, Ms. Steiner, I've had enough of DI Harriet Harper until she buys some bras that fit, so she doesn't have to pull up the strap every 40 pages.) Where Steiner really shines, though, is in her depiction of Miriam. Usually the distraught mother in missing children tales is either a prop trotted out for the occasional public appeal or a lackadaisical, if not outright neglectful, woman who practically "deserves" to have her child taken. Miriam, however, is a loving parent struggling to deal with the evidence that she really didn't know her daughter at all: "Any confidence Miriam ever had in herself as a mother has been eroded, and what is that confidence built on anyway, she thinks now - the luck of one's children? The DNA lottery? If they're bright and successful, you congratulate yourself. If they fall by the wayside, the world judges you. These days, she could be told anything at all about Edith and she'd be forced to accommodate it, because she knows nothing." As the mother of two daughters, I can say that Steiner has perfectly captured that ever-tottering seesaw between self-congratulation and self-flagellation. Steiner is no dunce when it comes to plotting, either. While I identified the villain fairly early on, the motivation came as a complete surprise. With Missing, Presumed, the reader is in the assured hands of an exciting new mystery novelist. I received a free copy of Missing, Presumed from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Good character mix, especially main. Unexpected denouement and a sequel that I am looking forward to reading. Good read. Treat yourself.