Detective Bernadette Noel

"A little girl is missing from under her mother’s nose. She’ll be scared and vulnerable - if she’s still alive. But no one is helping us search. No one wants to give us information. No one even seems surprised. What’s going on?"

Detective Bernadette Noel came to this quiet rural corner of southwest England from London to lie low after a high-profile prosecution led to death threats against her family. But she has barely settled in when the call comes. A woman’s voice, shrill with terror and thick with tears: "Help - it’s my daughter, Molly - I only had my back turned for a minute.... She’s gone!"

A child abduction is about as far from lying low as it gets, and her boss wants to assign a different detective. But there’s no way Bernie’s not taking the case - she can’t miss this chance to prove herself. 

Five-year-old Molly Reynolds has been snatched from the playground in the village where she lives. Normally in cases like this, the community is an asset - eager to help search and full of local knowledge. But although Molly’s mother Jessica is in anguish, the other villagers don’t seem to want to know. 

As details emerge, Bernie discovers a possible link to a shocking crime that has never been solved, and which the locals have never forgotten. But what exactly is the connection to Molly’s abduction? Cracking a cold case is the only way to find out - and meanwhile time is running out for Molly. 

Dark and compelling, this is an absolutely gripping missing-child crime thriller. If you like Val McDermid, D. S. Butler, or Angela Marsons, you’ll love Joy Kluver.