Local Gone Missing

In the prologue of this suspenseful crime novel from bestseller Barton (The Widow), set in the small British seaside community of Ebbing, an unidentified man strains to spit out the gag in his mouth just as someone enters the room where he’s being held. In the main narrative, cleaning woman Dee Eastwood, whose clientele includes 73-year-old Charlie Perry and his “some years” younger wife, Pauline, arrives one morning at the Perrys’ caravan and discovers Charlie is missing. Pauline later admits she hadn’t noticed his absence until Dee woke her. Flash back 17 days to Charlie’s visit to his brain-damaged daughter, Birdie, in a residential care facility. Birdie’s injuries were ostensibly caused by a drug addict who tortured her 20 years earlier during a burglary to get her to reveal where her valuables were. Another flashback introduces Det. Insp. Elise King, who also employs Dee. When Elise returns to active duty after being treated for breast cancer, she’s assigned to the search for Charlie, an inquiry that reveals multiple secrets about him, including why he lied about the real cause of Birdie’s injuries. Barton’s facility at creating plausible characters makes emotional involvement with them easy. Minette Walters fans will be pleased. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary (U.K.). (June)