A Stolen Child: A Maggie D’Arcy Mystery

The opening to Stewart Taylor’s stellar fourth Maggie D’Arcy adventure (after 2022’s The Drowning Sea) finds the former Long Island detective back in uniform, having joined the Dublin police force so she can begin a new life in Ireland with her boyfriend and daughter. While responding to the murder of a reality TV star, Maggie and her new partner realize they’d responded to a call at the same location a few days earlier, only to have the victim send them away. Wracked with guilt and questioning whether she should have pressed further during her first call, Maggie learns that the victim also has a young child who’s gone missing. With most of Maggie’s colleagues consumed by another high-profile murder, Maggie heads up both the homicide and missing child investigations, eventually leading an extensive—and increasingly dangerous—nationwide hunt for the killer. Stewart Taylor keeps the plot tight and makes satisfying links between the two major cases, but her particular skill lies in the psychological depth with which she draws Maggie and her home life. Readers will be eager to follow the detective’s future Irish exploits. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, Aevitas Creative Management. (June)