Jon Morgan is a retired police Superintendent and francophile who, it is said, has consequently seen almost everything awful that people can do to each other. He relishes quality writing in all genres but advises particularly on police procedure for authors including John Harvey and Jon McGregor. Haunts bookshops both new and secondhand and stands with Erasmus: “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I may buy food and clothes.”
The prologue introduces the reader to Dr Augusta Bloom, a psychologist dealing with a young girl after a traumatic incident. It is not until much later in the book that the repeated switch between this subject and the main thrust of the novel actually link up although the more astute reader may spot the direction of travel.
The main characters are the above mentioned psychologist, and Marcus Jameson, an Ex SIS (MI6) operative who have teamed up to form some form of detective agency. Unusually they take on a case of a missing woman who is a relative of a friend and uncover a conspiracy in the form of an on line initiated game where over a hundred people have been targeted for assessment / recruitment, most of whom are never heard from again.
Unravelling all this takes up most of the book and involves all sort of external agencies and some very unpleasant individuals. It makes a good read and the final tying up of loose threads is fairly satisfying. There remain a couple of loose ends, viz., what actually happened to the woman originally sought and most of the others targeted? All this signals books to come. Yup! Lost – again featuring the Bloom and Jameson – is out in 2020.
The primary thrust of the book is the profile of the psychopath within society, and I had assumed, along with 99% of the people I have spoken to that psychopath = bad. Not so, according to the examination conducted here, and I have to admit I found the didactic aspect of the novel most enlightening and not at all intrusive. There are high functioning psychopaths in all walks of life, not posing a danger to anyone at all. Who knew?
There are a couple of procedural holes – warrants are not needed for call data on mobile phones when an investigation into serious crime is underway – RIPA (the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) allows for a superintendent or above to authorise such a request and Jameson does go round telling all and sundry that he is a former SIS man, which I found rather implausible.
An impressive debut from an author who given her background as police psychologist largely knows her stuff. I look forward to the next instalment.
