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    Missing, Presumed: A Novel
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    Missing, Presumed: A Novel
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    Missing, Presumed: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Missing, Presumed: A Novel

    Written by Susie Steiner

    Narrated by Juanita McMahon

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • A pause-resisting mystery that brings to life a complex and strong-willed detective assigned to a high-risk missing persons case

    At thirty-nine, Manon Bradshaw is a devoted and respected member of the Cambridgeshire police force, and though she loves her job, what she longs for is a personal life. Single and distant from her family, she wants a husband and children of her own. One night, after yet another disastrous Internet date, she turns on her police radio to help herself fall asleep-and receives an alert that sends her to a puzzling crime scene.

    Edith Hind-a beautiful graduate student at Cambridge University and daughter of the surgeon to the Royal Family-has been missing for nearly twenty-four hours. Her home offers few clues: a smattering of blood in the kitchen, her keys and phone left behind, the front door ajar but showing no signs of forced entry. Manon instantly knows that this case will be big-and that every second is crucial to finding Edith alive.

    The investigation starts with Edith's loved ones: her attentive boyfriend, her reserved best friend, her patrician parents. As the search widens and press coverage reaches a frenzied pitch, secrets begin to emerge about Edith's tangled love life and her erratic behavior leading up to her disappearance. With no clear leads, Manon summons every last bit of her skill and intuition to close the case, and what she discovers will have shocking consequences not just for Edith's family but for Manon herself.

    Suspenseful and keenly observed, Missing, Presumed is a brilliantly twisting novel of how we seek connection, grant forgiveness, and reveal the truth about who we are.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 28, 2016
    ISBN9780451483324
    Unavailable
    Missing, Presumed: A Novel
    Author

    Susie Steiner

    Susie Steiner began her writing career as a news reporter first on local papers, then on the Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph and The Times. In 2001 she joined the Guardian, where she worked as a commissioning editor for 11 years. Her first novel, Homecoming was described as 'truly exceptional' by the Observer.

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    Reviews for Missing, Presumed

    3.5/5

    393 ratings79 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I found this book to be very slow going. I wasn't excited to pick it up and keep reading and I didn't feel a great pull to find out what was going to happen. This book was very meh. I didn't think about it when I wasn't reading it, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, I really didn't feel the need to keep turning the pages other than to get the book over with. This book reminded me a lot of how I felt after reading The Good Girl. Its a fine book but nothing spectacular and once you finally get to hear from the missing girl's perspective it changes your whole opinion of her in the end. In my opinion, there are much better missing woman mysteries out there that have a quicker plot and more interesting characters
    • 4/5
      Detective Manon Bradshaw seems to be a good detective, but her personal life is a bit of a mess. I can relate to her. She becomes involved in the missing persons case of Edith Hind. Chapters are told from the view point of various characters: Manon, Edith's mother Miriam, Manon's partner Davy, Edith's friend Helena. . . . an approach that works well. I became caught up in the case and kept changing my mind as to whether Edith might still be alive, and who might be involved in her disappearance. Like all good mysteries, unexpected (at least by me!) twists come near the end. I did find myself having to look up various Britishisms.
    • 4/5
      A good blend of mystery and personal story.
    • 3/5
      Actually ordered this book by mistake but I did like it. I was somewhat disappointed in the way DS Manon Bradshaw reacted to her love interest - it seemed out of character and somewhat wacky - she did redeem herself at the end with a very selfless act - The missing person part took a back seat for quite awhile but it wrapped up with a surprising twist that seemed to come out of nowhere. There was an excerpt for her next in the series and seemed very interesting - so I think I might order it and try the series. It was a quick light easy read.
    • 4/5
      A gripping tale about Edith, a missing Cambridge post graduate student and the detective, Manon Bradshaw conducting the search to find her. Edith is discovered missing by her boyfriend and the police pull out all the stops to try and locate her. But there are few leads and when another body is discovered nearby, the police wonder whether it could be tied to Edith's disappearance. If not, it may just be more case work for Manon and her team.I found this book hard to put down, it's such a page turner. All of the characters were well portrayed, giving the reader insight into their work and private lives. As a result, there was a very good connection to each person in the story. Manon the main female character, has the right amount of drive as a police officer as well as complex personal life which lets readers connect with her. I especially like the development of all the characters throughout the story. I didn't feel that they were flat or uninteresting in anyway.The structure of the story works well as chapters alternate between characters letting the reader see all sides of the story, the police procedural on one hand and the family drama on the other. Best of all, it was full of suspense as well as being unpredictable. Thanks to Random House for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      In Susie Steiner’s first police procedural (and second novel), Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw of the Major Incident Team of the Cambridge police is something of a ticking time bomb. Single, approaching forty, her personal life in disarray and with no viable life partner on the horizon, she has been reduced to the humiliating ritual of internet dating. One night, after returning home from another disastrous romantic encounter, she hears a call (on the police radio she’s installed against regulations in her bedroom) for officers to report to the scene of a serious incident, which, when she arrives, at first glance appears to be a violent abduction. The missing woman, 22-year-old student Edith Hind, is the daughter of Sir Ian Hind, royal surgeon, and his wife Miriam. It is a high-profile case with an attractive victim whose personal life becomes the focus of intense media scrutiny and salacious speculation. Steiner employs multiple points of view—primarily Manon, her relentlessly optimistic colleague DC Davy Walker, and Edith’s mother Miriam—to tell a story that is kept moving briskly along as secrets are unearthed, a body is found, and the police spend their time following up a series of leads, some false, others credible. Steiner’s novel is a well-told tale of good intentions gone awry. Her characters are delightfully flawed. They make mistakes. They act badly for a variety of reasons. Some of her people are weak and selfish, others are simply unlucky. Her greatest gift to readers, however, is Manon Bradshaw, a smart, tough, thoroughly modern career-driven young woman: emotionally vulnerable, savvy about many things (men being the glaring exception), not above profane outbursts and fits of jealous pique, and whose personal struggles arouse the reader’s sympathy and interest. The mystery at the core of Missing, Presumed is resolved in a credible manner, perhaps just short of wholly satisfying, but by that time the reader is so completely invested in Manon and her colleagues at Cambridge MIT that the only thing we really want to be told is that the author is writing a sequel.
    • 3/5
      My expectations were that this book would be similar to Tana French's books. It was in that we were drawn into the detective's inner life as well the investigation. Though, I was not as invested in the characters and the actual crime like I was with French's books. The solution to the crime was anticlimactic. The third part of the book pulled me out of the crime and into the main detective's life which was not all that interesting. I almost forgot there was an investigation going on. Three stars because the writing was good and I did develop empathy for most of the characters and the ending did tie up the book nicely but as I already said was anticlimactic. This detective series may get better with each book, would be willing to check out the next one.
    • 4/5
      I didn't like the main character, Manon, very much until the very end. She's trying to hard to be happy but going about it all the wrong way. The actual plot line is a tragic series of missteps. In searching for the missing girl, a murder victim is found and a troubled woman is driven to suicide. There is a sense, for Manon at least, that the mistakes in her case make her stop and think about where she is going in her life. The plot was unique and I enjoyed the twist.
    • 3/5
      I was expecting...more, I guess. It's good, it was just described to me as a great thriller I wouldn't be able to put down. And well, I did put it down, a bunch. And I didn't have much urgency to return to it other than to make a dent into my long TBR list. It's more of a police procedural than a thriller, but it is interesting with several twists. However, it's more of a slow burn.
    • 4/5
      Not typical, either with characters or the plot lines. Almost marked it with "edgy topics" as there's lots in the background about the ticking clock, online dating, lack of fulfillment. The book isn't just about the crime, it's also about the story of the characters, and ain't always pretty.
    • 4/5
      This book was the sort that made me wish I had someone to chat to who was reading along & say "Can you believe that?!" There were moments when I actually recoiled in surprise (Manon's date itemizing the check at dinner because he hadn't had wine) and then there were the moments where I issued shocked laughter (Manon receiving the break up text telling her that he was seeking something "exceptional").

      When I went into this I thought it was going to be mostly about the mystery of Edie's disappearance. It turned out that this read more like a first in a detective series. The case was followed but what shone through more importantly was the lives of the detectives and how those threads wove together in other ways (some case related & others not). They mystery, in its resolution, was a bit of a let down. I was glad to know the answers but the answers irritated me (as in "That's it? Seriously?!"). The only thing that pulled me back on my rage was realizing that I could completely see a case resolution going just that way in real life. It's not anything that will shock or amaze most readers but it did have all its threads neatly tied. The characters, Manon, Davy especially and to a lesser extent, Harriet, were where the best things about this book were hung. Of the Hinds, Miriam was the best rendered and I wish there was more Rollo. Fly was a very good addition and I liked him so much that I was actually sad when I realized I'd reached the end of the book.

      If this is the first book in a series, I will be looking forward to reading the next. Definitely recommended and I'll keep a lookout for future books by the author. This is definitely a very good debut.

      I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
    • 5/5
      When I saw the description of this book on twitter I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy and thankfully NetGalley was gracious enough to give me one. The title is perfect, you know the premise before you even crack the spine!
      British crime stories, whether in print or on tv, are my favorite form of entertainment and this story lived up to my expectations. The character driven nature of this police procedural is what bumps it up into the excellent category, and Steiner has the talent to make it seem so believable. A lot of times when you read crime fiction the focus of the story is all about the crime, and the characters thinly drawn, not the case here, this is a rich, layered narrative that is highly entertaining.

      Thinking this may be my favorite book of the year.

    • 4/5
      This compelling British mystery just doesn't let up, keeping the suspense high and the pages turning. In form, it is a police procedural set in the east of England, where a young woman has disappeared, leaving a plethora of unanswered questions and unresolved relationships behind her. But what drives the novel isn't form as much as the powerfully developed characters that keep it so engrossing. DS Manon Bradshaw is at the center of the novel and she is hard to ignore -- a strong if troubled person and police officer, with a powerful and sometimes cruel wit. The other police characters also spring to life, as do the parents and friends of the missing girl, and subsidiary characters who appear as the story unfolds. I wish there were more Manon novels, but it appears that we will have to wait.
    • 5/5
      An entertaining Brit police procedural, possibly a new series, featuring miserably single 39 year old Detective Inspector Manon Bradshaw, whose personal neediness becomes an issue in the investigation of a missing wealthy girl. The girl's mother and Manon's partner are also given prominent voices. The resolution is satisfying, if not unusual. Humor and pathos are very prominent. A good debut.
    • 5/5
      Here's another crime novel being promoted as the next The Girl on a Train, which it really, really isn't. I mean, they didn't even bother to call it The Missing Girl, Presumed or Missing, A Girl, Presumably on a Train. Instead, it's the debut in a new series of police procedurals following a DS named Manon Bradshaw who is not very good at social interaction, mainly because she's cranky and has terrible taste in men; she'll try anyone. But she is good at her job, as are the other two officers working with her to solve a high-profile missing persons case as the press dogs their every step. Edith is the woman who is Missing, Presumed. She's got a complex personal life and prominent parents, making her disappearance a dream for the press. Susie Steiner's writing is much better than is usually the case in the debut of a new series (this is her second book) and she writes each of her characters as fully-rounded people, treated with empathy whether they are a distraught mother, an officer trying to do her job or a criminal. With her compassionate treatment of even those on the margins of society, the main character's messy personal life and the excellent pacing, I was reminded of the police procedurals of both Sophie Hannah and Denise Mina. I eagerly await the next installment.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good, and easily recommendable as a lighter read, that's still well-written. I agree with the other reviews, however, that the mystery is predictable and the book drags a bit at times. The device of having a number of narrators didn't work well for me, especially when she changed from alternating narrators to repeating the same narrator. It didn't help that all of the female narrators, including the two main characters, were self-involved, brooding and hard to like on a personal level.
    • 3/5
      3.25 StarsA character-driven, contemporary police procedural about a missing woman. It's gritty and realistic, but the novel doesn't include all of the descriptive, grisly details that you do find in many books from this genre. For readers of modern crime and/or police investigations.LT Early Reviewer
    • 4/5
      Slow to start but thankfully stuck with it. Really enjoyed it and really like DS Bradshaw's character. As I was finishing the book, I thought 'wouldn't it be great if this were to be a series' and there is a new one coming out soon! I like the format of each chapter being dedicated to the characters. The relationship Bradshaw builds with Fly is really sweet!
    • 3/5
      Missing, Presumed is told in the voices of principal characters in alternating chapters: Manon; her partner in the police force, Davy; Edith's friend Helena; Edith's mother Miriam; and one or two chapters from Edith herself. It's a good way to get inside the minds of each character in order to get a clearer picture of what's going on. This is especially true once the investigation gathers steam and the lives of the people closest to Edith are put under the microscope (and often shredded). The one character I had the most difficult time coming to grips with is Manon Bradshaw herself. This is because, for most of the book, she is ruled by jealousy. She's not close to her family because her sibling got more attention. She looks at every other female and sees what they have that she doesn't. It's never dawned on her that maybe, just maybe, what everyone else has isn't what she needs. Seeing her finally begin to change her way of thinking was refreshing to say the least.Although the pace of the book is dramatically slowed by what I refer to as TMM (too much middle), and it has an ending that I didn't find very surprising, I still enjoyed the book. Those alternating voices really pulled me into the story. My next encounter with Manon will be an interesting one.
    • 4/5
      This is an engaging book that begins with the disappearance of Edith Hinds, daughter of a prominent, well-connected surgeon. Weeks pass without any information about Edith, living or dead. The investigation is led by police officers whose personalities soon emerge. One of them is Manon, who is dedicated to the case and to her pursuit of online dating with the inevitable humorous episodes. I am not a fan of police procedural novels, but this one went beyond that with excellent character descriptions that made the plot even more interesting. The chapters highlight five people who are involved in the case, which adds another layer of interest.
    • 4/5
      Missing, Presumed will appeal to readers who enjoy convincing character-driven mysteries. Set in Cambridgeshire, this mix of British police procedural and family drama, was not so much about the mystery for me but more about the characters.It was the second book I read this week which is based on a female, in this case, Edith, who goes missing. Told from multiple perspectives, it dives deep into the characters' lives and thoughts, as the readers hear from Miriam, the missing woman's mother, from Helena, who is Edith's friend, and then from DS Manon Bradshaw and her team member, DC Davy Walker, who are investigating Edith's disappearance. It wasn't an immediate page turner, more of a slow-burner. As I gradually got to know all the characters, I was drawn into their worlds and became invested in some of the characters. There was a lot of focus on the detective's private life. Manon's attempts at finding love were pretty hilarious and some of her self-deprecating thoughts were fantastic and made her very believable. I liked Manon and also Davy, and in particular, their colleague DI Harriet Harper, who provided some laughs and a lighter mood. I would actually love to listen to the audio version of this just for the experience of hearing one of the suspects, Tony Wright, who I think would be an absolute hoot to listen to. I loved him and also Fly and his interactions with Manon. However, I had a hard time conjuring up any positive feelings towards the victim and her family.The police procedural aspects of this story felt very believable and indicate the amount of research the author must have put into her first crime novel.I used the dictionary on my Kindle quite a bit while reading this and extended my vocabulary. Not a criticism, I love learning new words.I felt a little underwhelmed by the resolution to the mystery. To be fair, I think this may be partly due to still getting over my book hangover from reading the other missing girl mystery this week.Overall, solid character-driven fiction with a very credible feel to it.I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Edith Hind disappears from her home one night, leaving blood on the wall, and Manon Bradshaw is assigned the case. I don't know Cambridge, England, at all, but the novel was very evocative of the city. Well-written characters and a story that moves quickly [with a few asides about Manon's Internet dating experiences] create an enjoyable read.Edith's mother is convinced that her daughter is still alive, but when another body -- not Edith's -- is found, her certainty is rocked. The tabloids get hold of the story and make a meal of the fact that Edith and her best friend may have been more than "just friends," and Edith's father's position as surgeon to the Royal Family just adds fuel to the fire. Manon Bradshaw is looking to move up in the ranks of the police force and this case may make her name.The resolution of the case was not what I expected, which was nice -- Susie Steiner didn't telegraph the ending. Very good suspense novel!
    • 2/5
      This is unfortunately probably a harsher review than this book deserves, but it is definitely not anywhere near the same league as the works of Kate Atkinson and Tana French, as claimed by the marketing. Both of those authors are known for wonderful, penetrating characters, deep thoughtful thematic explorations, and brilliant atmospheric tension. This is a bog-standard mystery, and not a particularly clever or thoughtful one. And the ending is a bit frustrating from a feminist perspective. All in all, wasn't for me.
    • 3/5
      Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner is a slow burn police procedural about the search for missing person Edith Hind.DS Manon Bradshaw (great name) listens to her police radio at night to help her get to sleep and that's what convinced me I had to read this book. I had a police radio for a while and was addicted to listening to it at night, celebrating when news of a bad guy arrested was broadcast.Anyway, Bradshaw is investigating the sudden disappearance of Edith, with many leads to track down.I enjoyed exploring the different ways Edith's parents respond to her disappearance and the police work that goes into tracking down the various leads is a solid reminder of just how much work is involved in an operation of this magnitude.Try as I might, I didn't really like protagonist Manon Bradshaw. I thought she was desperate, clingy, needy and cried too much. Having said that, I know many readers will find her more relatable than other police detectives in this genre and there are plenty of women just like her out there. I guess I just wanted her to have more respect for herself.The ending was unpredictable, and I was glad to be mistaken when I thought I had the culprit sussed.* Copy courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers Australia *
    • 4/5
      This book is from Book of the Month Club. The first few chapters I found a little slow and found the difference in language a little strange to me. However, the second night I couldn't put the book down and read half of it. I got used to the writing style and the language in the book and I found myself really enjoying the book. I figured out the ending before I even started the book, but not all of it. Had one twist I didn't see, so I really enjoyed that. I would recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      While I would not classify this as a very suspenseful thriller, it was still a page turning mystery that takes place in Cambridgeshire.The book centers on Detective Manon Bradshaw who is assigned to a high profile case involving the disappearance of Edith Hind. Bradshaw is your typical lonely, work obsessed detective whose life is her work and not much else until about the middle of the book.A good book that focuses much more on character analysis than on a plot full of twists and turns. I received a complimentary copy via Librarything Early Reviewers.
    • 3/5
      Eh. That about sums up my reaction to this book. A run-of-the-mill missing person/presumed dead story that seems to try too hard. The author was intent on providing an in-depth psychological analysis of the main character and insights into the psyche of the other players in the story, but I don't think it worked. The character analyses almost seemed too contrived, as if the author was trying too hard in character development and wasted time which could have been better spent on the story. I will admit that being American I had difficulty with some of the British phrases used in the book, but I did not let that affect my opinion of the actual story. Would I read another book featuring DS Manon Bradshaw? Probably not.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      The high-profile case of a missing woman, the daughter of an English royal surgeon, plays out in a typical police procedural manner - there are many leads that go nowhere, there are setbacks and pressure from government, management and the press, there are other cases which divide the characters' attentions. However, throughout it all, the greatest impediments are from the internal interpersonal struggles of the characters. Susie Steiner, the author of Missing, Presumed, is a master of using sensuous imagery to ground her narrative and draw the reader in ... into not the scene so much as the inner life of the characters, the ones who notice the depressing smell of dampness, mildew, stale cigarettes, the desperate helplessness of a fly noisily bashing itself against a window, the clear squeak when walking on fresh, powdery snow.Each of the main characters face crises in their relationships with others, either brought on by the missing persons case or by it aggravating existing, simmering, conditions. This inner life of missing or aggrieved relationships and how each character deals with their personal demons, all in the context of a high-profile police case, provides the motivating forces in the story. We delve into the secrets, the guilts and the shames and the elations and fears of the detectives, the parents of the missing woman, even suspects and other persons of interest. We are drawn into each character's thoughts and emotions by clearly hearing the sounds they hear, sharply smelling the odors, joying in the warmth of the sun in the cold season and feeling, stroking, or shying away from the texture of life as each faces the stress of the case. Thankfully, the sense of an actual criminal investigation does not get swept away by the psychological undertow in the story. Interviews with suspects are taped, theories abound as the Major Incident Team tries in vain to get a solid lead, linkages are hypothesized between the missing person and other cases, the media hungers for the most salacious details, management tightens the screws and the stress affects all, in different ways.And the reader is seduced by the beautiful writing into caring for the characters and wanting them to find ways out of their personal as well as professional quandaries, is drawn into deliberating on what could have happened and who might be responsible. The mystery and the investigative details are satisfying, but in the end, the delicious, masterful prose, the dark humor, the visceral realism of the imagery and the sheer humanity of the characters are what is most gratifying. This is an excellent read!I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Hard to describe this book, which is part criminal investigation and part a look at the private lives of the coppers -- and the victims. Set in England, it follows a group of police officers centered around DSI Manon Bradshaw, a solid policewoman who has a sorry personal life. Like many trendy books, this one has alternating chapters told from the perspective of the handful of major characters. Other reviews talk about massive plot twists and shockers, but I really found none of that... just the unfolding of the crime and related activities as the investigation continues. An enjoyable read, but not quite up to Tana French; would have liked to see more thrilling and detective work and less on the messed up personal lives of the characters.