*****

After an idyllic first year of marriage, Mackenzie realises she’s made a mistake. Her controlling husband Derek dominates her life, refusing to let her see friends and restricting contact with her family. But Mackenzie’s drinking is getting out of control and when she tells her siblings about a stalker, they don’t believe her. When she is seen getting into a stranger’s car, everyone thinks she is having an affair, so when she leaves the house and doesn’t return, no-one bothers to go looking for her. When the police are eventually informed, DS Geddes thinks it’s merely a domestic dispute, until someone spots the mysterious stranger…

As always with this author, the plot is never straightforward. What we are told isn’t necessarily what’s really happening and as the story unfolds, we discover the underlying tensions in Mackenzie’s family and their various theories to explain her disappearance. Delving into the family’s tangled relationships, Mr Mullen sets the scene for complications, and as secrets emerge, the plot changes direction.

Having recently read the sequel to this book (Deadly Harm), I was keen to see how it all started for Mackenzie and co. I’m happy to report that this is another cracking good read that kept me flicking the pages to discover the truth. I had a few theories of my own, but as usual the author’s twisty-turny web of secrets and lies hits the mark and confirms Owen Mullen’s continued reign as the Big Mannie of Tartan Noir.

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