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

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This week we're spoiling you and giving away a massive 300 copies of Missing, Presumed! Head to the giveaway page to apply - plus read the top tips on writing crime fiction from author Susie Steiner.

Missing, Presumed tells the story of a missing girl, a desperate family, and a detective at breaking point.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. However, you don't have to win a free copy to take part in the discussion - anyone who has read Missing, Presumed can post their feedback here (and you can buy the book now).

Everyone who posts on this thread before 21 October will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

This giveaway is sponsored by HarperCollins

Loved this book! I'm a fan of crime novels anyway, and this didn't disappoint. A woman goes missing in Cambridgeshire, and the police are on the hunt to find her. The story is told from the point of view mainly of one of the female police officers and the girl's mother. The characters are beautifully described, Manon, the police sergeant, is a great character, flawed, vulnerable but tenacious. The police investigation all seemed very realistic. I found myself reading 'just one more chapter', desperate to find out what happens. I'd definitely recommend it

I took a little while to get into this book as I found to start with there were a lot of police terms abbreviated, this for me did make me stop and have to think what does that mean? Also maybe my attention span is not what it used to be but we were introduced to a lot of new characters in one fell swoop. I am also not a fan of stories told from different people's perspective , it seems to stop the flow.
But saying all that I did enjoy the book, the unfolding of the tale, I did jump to the wrong conclusions and was nicely surprised by the outcome of the investigation.
The characters were believable most of the time, although a little too obsessed with sex during important life and death situations, when they should have been concentrating on serious police business.
The tale was quite uplifting at the end with happy endings for all. Well almost all!

An enjoyable, page-turner of a book. I really couldn't put it down. It only took me two days to read it. There are quite a few twists and turns in it, some more believable than others. The characters are interesting. I thought the chapters told from the perspectives of Davy and Manon (with the exception of the ending) were on the whole more convincing than those of Miriam, Helena and Edith. On the whole a satisfying read. I hope this will be the first in a new series.

I started off enjoying this book but then realised I was getting bored the more I read. It's taken me longer to read than it normally would because I found myself not really caring about the characters. Because of this, I wasn't eager to pick the book up.
I found the ending boring and was pleased when I turned the last page.

I loved it, thank you Mumsnet! I couldn't put it down and would have devoured it in one day if my pesky kids didn't need feeding etc!! I loved that you developed a view on a character and then had it turned around. It showed that you can't possibly know all the facts about a person and that their image isn't always the real them. I liked the character of the mum best. The dressing down she gave Edith at the end 'And if your love ends the moment you find out your parents are people, then my God, there really is no hope for you.' struck home for me and made me realise I am guilty of this somewhat so will be calling my mum. I will seek out the author's other book now.

Just finished this book with my post-school-run cup of coffee. I have to say I did really enjoy this even though it was quite a chaotic read, with the story unfurling from many different character angles. Found it quite fascinating with not so easy to predict twists & turns. Quality writing with a real element of wit to it. Had me gripped and I can see this as a drama/screenplay perhaps. 9/10 if I was scoring it. Thanks Mumsnet (& publisher) for the opportunity to read & review.

Thank you for my free book! My DP managed to read it before me and we both enjoyed it. I liked the characters and I thought that the author made some good observations that I could relate to. Reminded me a bit of the Kate Atkinson detective series starting with Case Histories. I would be interested in reading other books by this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the characters interesting and enjoyed getting to know them, all of them seemed real to me. I also was guilty of 'just one more chapter' then ending up sitting up late reading. I like the story being written from each characters perspective, I felt this helped me to get to know the characters and made them more real. However I was disappointed with the ending, it just felt too cosy, it's not that I didn't want a happy ending I just would have preferred it to be a bit more 'to the wire'. I also do not understand why '72 hours' was splashed across the cover as it really is not that important to the story. All in all a good read.

Wow! Not usually my choice of a read but the book arrived and I knew a review was expected. What can I say? I LOVED it. I became emotionally involved with the characters and it's one of those books when you are desperate to finish but also cannot bear to because the end means no more interaction. I give it top thumbs up. It's exciting, sometimes funny, and quite simply adorable. Buy it, read it and share it. it's very good.

Although I thought I'd really enjoy this, unfortunately I found it very dull and struggled to finish it. It went on and on without really getting anywhere and the ending was totally unbelievable. I didn't really warm to any characters although their stories at times were more interesting than the main plot. Could've been written in 100 pages, unfortunately.
Disappointing.

I am on page 98 so far (not a quick reader) and really enjoying it! Looking forward to finding out what has happened to Edith!

I just finished reading Missing, Presumed and I really enjoyed. It's the story of a young woman who suddenly disappears and the police search for her. The story is told by the perspective of all the characters involved, from the police to the victim's family and friends, and it's really engaging and captivating, full of twists as secrets are revealed and truths come out. I like how the narrator focuses on the description of the characters' personality, especially DS Manon Bradshaw, the detective in charge of the case, whose character develops during the book.

Dh and I both read this book over a few days and really enjoyed it. As I said previously not the type of book I normally read but loved the plot - it was not too gory. Slow in places but liked the fact that they built up a picture of each of the characters so that we got to know them. Twist at end 're death of Taylor dent was good although the ending was a little flat and we don't know the outcome of either of the trials.
many thanks for the book.

I agree with a number of previous comments - I really thought I'd enjoy this but didn't. It dragged on without seeming getting anywhere and the ending was a bit too neat. I was hoping to pass it onto DH because he loves thrillers but I'm not sure he'll have the patience for this one.

I received a free copy of this book and read it this week. (WARNING: may contain spoilers!)

I gave it 2 stars out of 5. I felt it was much too long and was left thinking at the end, 'was that it?'. I was expecting an exciting psychological thriller, with a lot of twists, but instead, I got a boring description of life for police officers.

The main story of Edith, who is presumed missing, is dull. In fact, there isn't a story. At some point the author tries to make you think there's a connection with a body found in the river but there is no link to Edith. Although there is a family link, which I find to be too much of a coincidence for that to actually happen in real life.

I didn't like Manon at all; I'm not sure we are meant to like her. So the ending for me was a bit too much.

The one thing though that kept me going with this book was the language and the humour. I loved some of the descriptions; I loved the style of writing, it's just such a shame the storyline didn't match up to this. There were also some really funny parts and some lines which made me smile, she captures the real world perfectly (I absolutely loved the part where she described This Morning with Holly and Phil!).

I'm glad I read this book because I enjoyed it, the style of writing was really enjoyable. But the story, for me, was just dull and not believable.

Thank you for my free copy!

I have also read this and enjoyed it. There could have been more mystery for me but I loved the characters and there was so much detail to absorb it made for a compelling read.
I love that Manon is a lonely internet dater, this made me like her even more.

A super read, thank you. Looking forward to the second book about Manon Bradshaw

Missing Presumed by Susie Steiner was on my mat after returning from holiday. Thank you Mumsnet. I love a good detective story and this looks as if it will hit the spot. And with humour as well. I look forward to reading it. Thanks again.

Thanks for this treat! Really enjoyed the book, not a hugely complicated plot, but well written and paced development of the plot. Initially I was irritated by the use of the present tense, but got used to it. Overall, glad to have read it, and would give this author's subsequent books a go!

Really enjoyed this book. Liked the immediacy of the writing, relatable main character, and the supporting cast of police officers. Good balance of the plot and characterisation. Only thing I felt didn't work well was the ending in terms of Edith (which I won't spoil by explaining but it felt quite implausible)
I would definitely read a follow up book as the Manon character was compelling. The sub-plot with child that Manon helps was also good and liked the scenes with them both. Also liked the inclusion of emails/texts etc.

Thank you for my copy, I've not had chance to read it all yet- but a few chapters in and I'm hooked. The book is being carried about the house with me to grab opportunity to read when I can.
It will also be coming with me to my night shifts later in the week!!

I am torn between loving this book and yet being slightly puzzled by the ending as it seemed to have a neat bow tied kind of feel. Having said that I found the story told by many peoples points of view fascinating, I am a real fan of this. And I suppose the saying about truth being stranger than fiction is also a good way to approach this cough erm, fictional story, because the actual ending left me with many unanswered questions about the characters. Not just in a 'where do they go from here' way. This was more 'how did they even get here' which, since I was the one that had read their story up til then, was probably not what the author was going for.
I would still recommend this book as a good read.

wow this was a real hard book to read two or three times I wanted to stop and put in the charity bag but in the end I made it too the last page, was it worth it NO it was not very slow and boring, poor characters and a very weak story line very poor ending think the author was as glad to get to the end of there book as much as the readers were

I've just finished reading this. To begin with, I found it really easy to read and the characters were interesting. I wanted to find out more which encouraged me to keep reading. However, the momentum didn't continue and I felt it slowed right down. It just dragged on too long but I pushed myself to finish it. I did like the ending though

This book was as good as advertised - good pace, good storyline and I really enjoyed the interactions between the police. The family, on the other hand - what a bunch!

Manon is a middle aged woman who is looking for love, but has problems.
She goes missing and is presumed dead. All the characters have complex relationships - " DON'T WE ALL ""
I liked this book