BOOK REVIEW: Persons Unknown (DS Manon, #2) by Susie Steiner

Persons Unknown is the second book in the British police procedural series written by Susie Steiner featuring Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw that started with Missing, Presumed. Probably 3.5+ stars but rounded up because I like the idea of the series continuing with Manon, Manon's adopted son  and her co-worker Detective Sergeant Davy Walker. It's curious to me how very different this second book (Persons Unknown) is from the first in form and feel. I think they both used the form of alternating point of views chapters but in this one the choice of the POV characters was quite unusual. Of course we had ones from Davy and Manon but for some reason we never had one from her son, even though he plays a significant role in the main character's life. I hope that changes in the next book. The central mystery in Persons Unknown was pretty compelling but it feels somewhat unfair that the author decided to exploit the willingness of the police (and everyone else) to associate black boys with criminality to put Fly in such a bad situation. That was a really horrible thing to do. Getting a first hand view of the juvenile detention system in Britian was eye-opening and extremely depressing. Of course even more bad things happen as well as the plot develops, but surprisingly there are also some good things that happen (particularly involving Manon's love life). Another interesting aspect of the book is  what a large role infidelity plays in the book. I was also surprised by the ubiquity of CCTV footage from so many public places that the police can take advantage of to help them solve crimes. The eventual resolution of the central mystery was a but surprising in that we find out "who dun it" but they don't get punished! I am very interested to see where Steiner takes these characters in the next book. I hope Fly is still in the picture (and Mark)!

Title: Persons Unknown.
Author: Susie Steiner.
Paperback: 368 pages.
Publisher: The Borough Press.
Date Published: July 4, 2017.
Date Read: July 19, 2017.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★½☆  (3.5/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.67/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A-.