MISSING by E A Jackson

4* Works absolutely perfectly because of the 90s setting.

I hadn't read the blurb fully, or hadn't paid enough attention and didn't realise that the tale is mostly set in the 90s. It did irritate a bit but my bad for not checking, and boy did it turn into a decent read. 

It's skillfully done, blending present, past, then present, then past, and it has human aspects as well as police procedural ones. We get to learn about the now-DS, her then-DC, how chauvinistic policing was back in the 90s, and the tale was very believable. Not at first, but the author dovetailed really well and the icing on the cake came for several people, one of whom wasn't alive at the end of the tale, but whose life had found purpose and happiness. Not all cake recipients were aware of the icing and I suspect that if a DNA test gets done - a likelihood  - there will be questions and more icing. And recriminations, too. I liked that the now-DS's instincts were so strong and good and that despite it being 30 years on before she solved the case, she got there. I liked, too, reading about her Jamaican then-DC's life and success outside of the Met. 

ARC courtesy of Faber and Faber Limited and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

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