5 December 2025.
ISBN: 978-0-7490-3273-9 (HB)
Following the death of her husband, Merrin McKenzie has returned to her hometown of St Ives.
She has now settled into Cornwall doing some pro boo legal work. She has also made some new friends, one being Chief Inspector Louis Peppiatt, who she learns greatly admired her late husband, Adam.
When Merrin takes a call from Jane, a former colleague in Bristol who is going through a messy divorce, Merrin wants to help in any way she can, which leads to her taking in Jane's sixteen-year-old teenage daughter, Emily, who turns out to be difficult and monosyllabic to the point of rudeness. But when Merrin returns home from dinner with friends, Emily is not there. Initially, Merrin assumes that Emily is just being difficult and had gone off somewhere. But when she doesn’t return, Merrin becomes distinctly worried. Then a ransom demand is made for the girl's safe return, and matters take a distinctly sinister turn.
We know that Emily has been kidnapped, but not why, or by whom. Alongside that puzzle Merrin is also struggling with the pro bono case for a local teenager, 16-year-old Billy who has been arrested for shoplifting. He was first caught when he was 10. He has a youth caution and a certain cheeky charm, but in his latest escapade he threatened the shopkeeper with a knife. This points to a custodial sentence. It is also very out of character for young Billy.
This is an interesting story which has two distinctly different strands. Both these teenagers are in situations that are not totally of their making. Can Merrin unravel the problems?
A
compelling story that kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer:
Lizzie Sirett
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