A former Customs and Police Officer, Andrew Hill’s first book in a crime series set in the New Forest, where he lived for 30 years, will be published in Spring 2022. An avid reader across the crime genre and regular at crime writing festivals, he now lives in West Sussex and works in property.
Twenty years in the past six children were abducted in Essex, but only five came home. The remaining five gather each year to pay their respects. However this year’s gathering is different as one of the five, witnesses what appears to be the abduction of a young girl, called Sammi.
DI Sasha Dawson was a Probationary Constable during the original abductions. She recalls how maladroitly the senior Police Officer, DI Peter Carrington, handled the case and how it cost him his job.
Sasha knows that the key to Sammi’s whereabouts are uncovering the truth about what really happened at Baden Place (The Bad Place) and that Sammi is the child of one of the surviving five original abductees.
What secrets are the five survivors hiding?
Why didn’t the sixth child escape?
Is one of the remaining five responsible, or is someone taking a revenge?
Mark Hill as bestowed on the lucky reader a delightful dish of domestic noir with a side order of Police Procedural and a strong female lead, who we are promised will head-up further investigations.
As the dual timeline unfolds, we are treated to an engrossing story, some right-angle twists and odorous red herrings, all leading to a well-concealed and well-conceived denouement.
That we get vignettes of Sasha’s homelife only adds to this heady brew.
My recommendation is to get to know Sasha Dawson, because there’s more to come.
