Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner
If you love guessing up until the very end, then this is the book for you. Clues and misdirections abound, mixed perfectly to lead you down countless potential trails of exploration. Manon is a unique character and the first book in this series shows us how intricately woven her personal and professional lives. Both sides of her life have such an impact on each other and I really enjoyed being fully immersed into her life (and it's an interesting one).
My one and only dislike about Manon is she is a bit too depressed most of the book. She's a little too lost at times, and one period of being lost is followed up by another one - while she may be on the ball professionally, her personal life is a mess - but I needed a little bright side to it before the end of the book.
But, we're really reading this for the crime. Edith is missing, foul play is almost certain, and the police are rapidly running out of time. This part of the story was beyond perfect. I really enjoyed seeing the glimpses into Edith's parents' lives and the lives of her friends that are involved in the investigation. Things don't go smoothly, and things go horribly wrong at one point. In fact, I think it's safe to say it all starts to fall apart.
But there is a solution to the case. It isn't what I expected (which is good), but looking back through the bits and pieces of clues I can see it (which is good). It's a little out there, but completely believable. If Manon could just find a little light in her life, then I think this book would be just about perfect.
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