Missing, Presumed

The Borough Press

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Copyright © Susie Steiner 2016

Jacket design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016

Cover photographs © Evelina Kremsdorf/Arcangel Images

Extract taken from ‘Some More Light Verse’ taken from Serious Concerns © Wendy Cope and reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd

Extract taken from ‘Valentine’ taken from Serious Concerns © Wendy Cope and reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd

Extract taken from ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ taken from Complete poems and plays of T. S Eliot © T. S Eliot and reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd

Extract taken from ‘Little Gidding’ taken from The Four Quartets © T. S Eliot and reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd

Susie Steiner asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Source ISBN: 9780008123321

Ebook Edition © February 2016 ISBN: 9780008123307

Version: 2018-04-23

‘Where Steiner excels is in the depth and clarity with which she depicts her characters. Manon is sad and lonely, estranged from her sister and something of a misanthrope. But she’s also funny and clever, and interesting. I defy you not to fall for her’

Thriller of the Month, Observer

‘A cracking page-turner’

Woman & Home

‘This clever, witty novel is one of those rare books that marries excellent writing and memorable characters with an absorbing plot and a startling twist’

Sunday Express

‘Where Steiner excels is in the depth and clarity with which she depicts her characters … I defy you not to fall for her. Steiner has a real knack for shading in the throwaway details about a character that turn them from two-dimensional into three … Here’s hoping there’ll be more to come from DS Manon Bradshaw’

Guardian

‘Steiner’s engrossing, gripping and wry prose, beautifully detailed storytelling and the wonderfully drawn DS Manon Bradshaw elevate this missing person novel into something quite spectacular and deeply satisfying’

Best crime thrillers of 2016, Red

‘The most satisfying read in ages … Utterly brilliant’

INDIA KNIGHT

‘Loving Missing, Presumed – intelligent, funny, gripping and beautifully written’

CARYS BRAY

‘[Steiner] gets inside the minds and lives of her book’s socially disparate personalities with the grace of a novelist of manners, even as she pulls tight the strands of one of the most ambitious police procedures of the year’

Wall Street Journal

‘Gripping, authentic, funny and moving, Missing, Presumed hits the sweet spot between literary and crime fiction. The plot is gripping, with a twist that knocked me sideways, swiftly followed by another one that knocked me back in the other direction. More than that, the characters became dear friends over the course of the book. I’m already looking forward to the next one’

ERIN KELLY

‘Within a chapter, DS Manon Bradshaw announces herself as a detective to follow through books and books to come. A treat in store for those who love their crime fiction rich in psychology, beautifully written and laced with dark humour. Dive in’

LUCIE WHITEHOUSE

‘Enjoyable … an intriguing mix of light and shade. DS Manon Bradshaw is a messed-up, big-hearted detective in the best tradition’

HARRIET LANE

‘This is a cracking mystery, but one peopled with such brilliant female characters, so fantastically well drawn that it feels like more than a mere thriller’

The Debrief

‘Smart and stylish … Manon is portrayed with an irresistible blend of sympathy and snark. By the time she hits bottom, professionally and privately, we’re entirely caught up in her story … With luck, we’ll be see more of them in the future’

New York Times

For John & Deb

‘The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started’

Little Gidding, T. S. Eliot

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Missing, Presumed

Dedication

Epigraph

17 December 2010: Saturday – Manon