Kent based and recently married and retired, ex-Detective Superintendent Fran Harman and ex-Assistant Chief Constable Mark Turner miss being involved in their police career. They both are delighted to agree to review a cold case for an ex-colleague who is the Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) in the newly merged West Mercia police which covers Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

However arriving at Hindlip Hall, the police headquarters, they find that their contact has been replaced. Reorganisation has led to redundancies. The new ACC seems less than happy for them to be there. The promise of police officers to assist gets reduced to three people. However they immediately get involved in the case of a woman who along with her young son vanished from her car twenty years ago. She had left behind in the car another son who was dead and had severe medical problems. She had been married to a successful footballer, who was then playing for West Bromwich Albion.

The weather is dreadful, constant rain and floods. The relaxed and humorous Fran and Mark need these qualities when they also face local resistance to their investigations, which include the missing woman's parents. There is also someone who is determined they will not complete their investigations. Can they overcome all the obstacles?

The author has written three series which include one for Fran Harman of which this is the sixth book. You get involved with Fran and Mark and want them to succeed. The author is an excellent storyteller. You do have to suspend belief on occasions but I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the preceding books in the series. Highly recommended.

Geoff Jones, England
March 2015