The DCI Rylan Crowe Mysteries

Better than any episode of Law & Order I’ve ever seen.

Somerset County, England: where July’s ocean breezes grace the southwest coast. But for some of the locals fun-in-the-sun isn’t on their agendas ... toddler Evie Mortimer is missing.

Grid searches are underway. But the only sign of the three-year-old is her lone pink shoe … discovered by a volunteer outside the Mortimer family’s gated garden wall. The bright pink shoe shines like a beacon, yet offers no clues. Lead investigator Detective Chief Inspector Rylan Crowe immediately intuits that the shoe’s been left by someone during the morning search. Frustrated and sickened, Crowe sadly tells his sergeant, “A missing child brings on the helpful and unhelpful in droves.”

Hope and fear clash non-stop when a child is missing. And time proves a cold companion for anyone involved. We meet some likely suspects early. But strange under currents swirl around the missing Evie.

JM Reinbold proves herself well-acquainted and well-skilled with mysteries.

Any book involving a missing child is naturally dark. Providing a topic like this won’t cause you to suffer emotionally, I recommend Missing.

Missing is a short, enjoyable "Brit-crime" mystery. I had the good fortune to attend school in England, and my early reading included works by Dick Francis and other British mystery/crime authors. Although crime stories tend to have commonalities no matter where they are set, those that take place in England have a particular atmosphere I find enjoyable and intriguing. Reinbold captures this atmosphere nearly flawlessly.

Detective Chief Inspector Rylan Crowe fills the expectations I had of an English detective. His colleagues all fit into anticipated supporting character roles and provide the depth readers will require in any crime mystery. The family of the titular missing girl, the neighbors, the suspects... all are drawn with enough depth to match their importance in the story.

The plot leads you where you think it should go before the author starts throwing curve balls and, before long, readers aren't sure where the story will end up. Will DCI Crowe find the missing girl? Who is responsible for her disappearance?

I suspect I'm in the majority when I say I'd love to see DCI Crowe again. More short works like Missing will be fine, but he calls out for a deeper work; one in which he's up against another tough case - one in which Reinbold can really stretch her fine writing skills and provide us all the full-on, novel-length Brit Crime experience.

This novelette reels you in from page one with a truly horrific twist at the end. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy--not to be missed. I read it in one sitting and was sorry when it was over. The characters are well-drawn and the pacing keeps you turning the pages.