Another outing for ex-copper Jackson Brodie, this book starts with six-year-old Joanna witnessing the brutal murder of her mother and siblings (which made me instantly think of the Josie Russell case). Wind forward 30 years and Joanna is now a doctor in Edinburgh, and a mother herself. When her family's murderer is about to be released from prison one of Jackson's former colleagues has to warn Joanna. Next thing, Joanna has gone missing, which Reggie the 16-year-old nanny knows is totally out of character. Cue, exciting mystery with Jackson getting involved as well, and any number of coincidences. It reminded me of one of the best episodes of a top-notch crime series on TV - something like "Cracker" or "Silent Witness". The production values are fantastic, the characters are fascinating, but the plot doesn't really stand too much investigation.
But in this case it doesn't really matter that the plot, with all its coincidences, is not very realistic. It's a device for inspecting some really good characters, and it unashamedly keeps you turning the pages.
The tone is pretty bleak, with just the tiniest bit of hope keeping the central protagonists going. But it's often very funny as well, and is a great read.
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