Review by Booklist Review
Bauer writes intense psychological thrillers that move on the backs of her fascinating characters, and her latest is no exception. Latham is the shut eye, a psychic who is summoned in desperation to aid in the case of a missing 12-year-old girl. Detective Chief Inspector Marvel, a cold, single-minded investigator, insists on keeping the girl's year-old case open, even though he also has a murder to work on except his superior would rather Marvel find a missing dog. Meanwhile, another child is missing: four-year-old Daniel wandered off and the only evidence is a set of Daniel's footprints through wet concrete that gradually disappear. His distraught mother, Anna, starts getting visions, which could connect all these cases. Bauer is a strong voice in crime fiction who has won awards in the UK; this could be the book to find her a wider audience in the U.S.--Alesi, Stacy Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Det. Chief Insp. John Marvel, the misanthropic policeman in this intricate, surprise-filled crime novel from British author Bauer (Blacklands), can "see the bad in anyone." Marvel is still obsessed by his failure to solve the case of Edie Evans, a preteen who vanished on her way to school a year earlier. The inspector is drawn into another mystery when he crosses paths with Anna Buck, whose four-year-old son, Daniel, disappeared right in front of their home after her husband negligently left the front door open. The last tangible evidence of her child is footprints Daniel left in a newly laid patch of cement, which she dutifully cleans every day. Anna's despair leads her to a psychic, who happens to have been the same person Marvel turned to at one point in the Evans case. The solution is fairly clued, but it's Bauer's talent at making the characters' emotional lives (especially Anna's) palpable that makes this a standout. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.). (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Bauer's tangle of intertwined mysteries centers on the belief in psychics. Detective Chief Inspector Marvel considers them "shut-eyes," performers who have become so adept at their craft that they actually believe their own illusions. But when it comes to his cold case, missing preteen Edie Adams, he'll accept whatever he must to find her. Losing her four-year-old son shattered Anna Buck, and she's willing to do anything to find him, including visit a church where they talk to the dead. Something strange happens to her there, and she begins having visions. Narrator Andrew Wincott does an excellent job with the material given that there are many points of view, multiple time streams, and seemingly irrelevant story lines to track. His accents cover not only British dialects and genders but also a wide range of ages. The problem is that it takes so long to connect the threads that by the time the picture is made clear, the listener may not be sure how it happened. Verdict This complicated thriller, though well narrated, would be better read than heard. ["Fans of Tana French or Ruth Rendell will appreciate": LJ 1/16 review of the Grove hc.]-Jodi L. Israel, Miami, FL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
