Find out what Mumsnetters thought of Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner

book received and in the queue for reading! Won't read any posts yet as I don't want to spoil it!

I think my biggest issue with the book was that the blurb really didn't match the content. The blurb implied it was a tense, gripping mystery. Instead, I would describe it as slow-plodding exploration of the hole left behind when people go missing. It was kind of interesting to see the effect on the mother and investigating officer, but it could have been executed in a better way. I felt that the switching over of perspectives started to get confusing, therefore I often had to leaf back through the book to remember who someone was. Also, I don't understand why third person narrative was used in a book that keeps switching perspective, made for quite a clunky read. I guess some would argue the author was trying to underline the frustratingly slow pace that the investigation was taking.

All in all, it wasn't a bad book by any means. Just a bit clunky and could do with a more accurate description. Would be interested to see if Manon gets her own series of books, as would consider reading it.

Thank you for my copy of Missing, Presumed , which I've nearly finished reading.
I've had a theory in my head as to what happened to Edith from a few chapters into the book, and I can't wait to find out if I'm right or not.

Enjoying the story so far, but find DS Manon Bradshaw a very sad character indeed.. I just hope she finds a bit of happiness in future books of the series.

Copy arrived last week and I am about half way through.

I like the protagonist Bradshaw. However it is an easy read but so far not gripping.

Gripping read - I really didn't see the end coming!
Written at a good pace, I didn't skim read any of it!
Realistic characters, solid plot, nothing left unfinished.
I'd definitely recommend this book!

My copy took a while to arrive but was worth the wait. I really enjoyed reading 'Missing, Presumed' and though DS Manon Bradshaw was a warm and human lead character, also really funny at times. The story was gripping, making it a bit a of a page turner and it had no trouble keeping my attention. The way the chapters are from the perspective of different characters was interesting and the way the story builds made it well-paced and a good read.

I'm always stunned that I can read the same book and totally disagree with other people's views on things like whether it was well written!

So I did finish it. As I said I hated the Soham reference. I didn't love the book at all; it was okay but plodding and I felt nothing really happened.

All the characters being linked was silly, I like a few red herrings.

Ending was daft.

This book was pacey enough to not get bored, I liked the different mix of characters who each told bits of the story, and there were enough clues to make you guess but not enough to think you already know what's happened.
The introduction of 'real life' into the story was well handled by the author, although its made me realise I don't want to read about using social media - I prefer to read to escape such things!
Overall I'm glad I read the book, I wouldn't rave about it as a must read but would recommend it to others.
Thanks for the free copy!

KIND OF SPOILERS ALERT

It was easy enough to read, but overall, I didn't like it much. Sorry.

Manon went beyond relatably-imperfect to, well, a bit pathetic. I was embarrassed for her.
Few of the characters were remotely likeable, which meant that certain plot points were robbed of their impact.

The copy I received had "72 hours to find her..." splashed across the front. I think that was a mistake on the publisher's part because the 72-hour deadline passes when there are over 300 pages of the book still to go. It makes it feel like an anticlimax, and the structure of the book unwieldy.

I didn't like the tortured similes. It felt a bit Creative Writing class. For example, the opening sentence "She can feel hope ebbing, like the Christmas lights on fade in Pound Saver." DH just laughed.

And the too-neat ending really pissed me off. It was kind of patronising, in a way. Like 'Here ladies! Have a gritty meaningless sex grim murder story, but don't worry, we'll give it a pink fluffy ending so you don't get upset and cry.'

Thank you for my copy of Missing Presumed which I raced through in a day. It was a very easy read with enough characters and sub plots to keep interest. I have mixed feelings about the authors' way of inserting real characters or news events into a fictional situation though... In the case of mentioning Soham I think it worked well as it was used to show the difficult decisions facing the police force and press intrusion. When you have "Sam having more time now she's left Smythson" then I found it clunky and rather ridiculous....Not a big criticism just worth a mention!
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but I did find the ending rather a let down. I would probably read another if the plot sounded interesting. An easy, entertaining read.

Found this a bit slow in places, but was a good read with lots of twists and turns, very well written and contains great humor.
Thanks for the free copy.

A superb crime novel, a fascinating conundrum, beautifully written, and peopled by well rounded characters, with all the foibles of everyday folk. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to any other books she writes. Thank you Mumsnet for the opportunity to review it, and as they say I feel positive about this as it's a great book, not because it was free. Well worth reading.

Just finished it!

Not your standard crime novel.

Characters are so well shaped that by the end of it, you feel like they are part of your own personall past. Someone you regularly had coffee with, before you changed schools or jobs? Someone you know at a level of actually anticipating their reaction.

I wouldn't praise so much the plot as the actual build-up. Intriguing enough to keep you turning the pages, but not at the point of no-way, life-is-not-a-James-Bond-movie, that other crime novels create.

Gradually bonding you so much with the characters that you can see both a good and bad side to them, which make them so much more believable and easy to relate to.

All in all the book was a happy surprise that I would gladly recommend.

Have just finished this book, what a page turner. Not the kind of book that I would normally read, however I found it to be very well written and I was hooked within the first few pages. I was kept guessing right until the very end, with twists and turns that I did not expect to happen at all. A great book that you will find hard to put down.

Ok I've read a bit more and I hate the references to the Soham murders of Holly and Jessica.

It feels dirty to use a fairly recent real crime to help write a fictional book.

I'm not sure if I want to keep reading.

I appreciate that I'm probably weird in this but it's leaving a nasty taste in my mouth.

My Review:

Well I read it over a week which means it was fairly gripping, i will read a book in one or two evenings if it is really gripping :-), so it was just an ok book. Not something I would rave over but not something I would tell a friend to avoid if that makes sense.

There were too many side bits of story for me, sort of filling out in the too much and nothing to do with the main plot. I got to a point where I was thinking why is the book called missing, presumed. The subtitle of 72 hours very quickly passed so I wondered why it was the main title of the book.

Manon was portrayed in a way that made me feel she was much older than she was, possibly because i'm a similar age to her and not remotely in the same mindset, I was reading it thinking she sounded like an older woman, not sure what on earth the relationship with Alan added to the story.

The use of the term misper grated on me in the first half of the book, it seemed to be used too much.

The end wrapped up quite quickly and unrealistically so although wasn't an expected ending, it wasn't really a "gosh" type of moment. I had already guessed something about who was involved within the first 8 pages of the book.

I would probably read something by this author again but I wouldn't specifically go out of my way to follow her books and buy them on release like I do with some authors.

The first paragraph was poorly written which didn't make a good first impression.

I couldn't really get into the book - I didn't like the characters and the story just didn't get me involved.

I have read much better books with a similar them and I'm afraid this one disappointed me - sorry.

Good beginning, I like the bits about the police investigation. Helena is a very interesting character. Twist towards the end, all in all a good book with plenty of suspects.

Massively enjoying this read, about a third way through, can't wait to get to bed to read it! Thanks so much for my copy.

Entered, fingers crossed!

Not me on Manon!

I've started reading it and I was a bit thrown by the writing style: not in a bad way just it wasn't easy to get into the flow at first.
I quite like the switch between the characters, and I liked ma on listening to the radio at night to fall asleep.

Thankyou mumsnet i received my copy last week. After getting stuck into it im afraid this book isnt a winner for me. The first few pages were so cliche it was embarrasing. The whole plot was slow and the swop from character to character was annoying. Usually i would enjoy this play around with characters but i just didnt enjoy it and the ending was rubbish. I would not buy this author again.

I'm going to get stuck in this evening

It's fine I always pass books on . We all have a moment anyway - I imagine it wasn't really about the book! PM me your address and I'll send it next week