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The Finder Mysteries #1
Missing Person: Alice
The people I work with call me 'Finder'. I'm a specialist, a finder of missing people.
July 2015, Sevenoaks. 12-year-old schoolgirl Alice Johnson went missing while doing her paper round, her bag found discarded on the pavement. At 08.00, she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by-pass. At 11.00, she was seen talking to the driver of a black car in Tonbridge. After that, nothing. Alice was never found.
Nine years later the body of another schoolgirl, Joleen Price, is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man named Vince Burns detained. Convinced that Burns is guilty in both cases, SIO Dave Armstrong calls in the Finder to investigate the earlier disappearance.
Interviewing those who thought they knew her, the Finder gradually reveals a hidden Alice, a girl of surprising contradictions. Seeking answers from her divorced parents - an over-protective mother, a negligent father - the Finder is forced to consider violently opposing narratives. Was the timid 12-year-old a victim of the predator Burns, as he himself hints? Or was she carrying out a plan of her own?
July 2015, Sevenoaks. 12-year-old schoolgirl Alice Johnson went missing while doing her paper round, her bag found discarded on the pavement. At 08.00, she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by-pass. At 11.00, she was seen talking to the driver of a black car in Tonbridge. After that, nothing. Alice was never found.
Nine years later the body of another schoolgirl, Joleen Price, is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man named Vince Burns detained. Convinced that Burns is guilty in both cases, SIO Dave Armstrong calls in the Finder to investigate the earlier disappearance.
Interviewing those who thought they knew her, the Finder gradually reveals a hidden Alice, a girl of surprising contradictions. Seeking answers from her divorced parents - an over-protective mother, a negligent father - the Finder is forced to consider violently opposing narratives. Was the timid 12-year-old a victim of the predator Burns, as he himself hints? Or was she carrying out a plan of her own?
229 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 11, 2024
106 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Simon Mason
57 books245 followersSimon Mason was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, on 5 February 1962. He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He splits his time between writing at home and a part-time editorial position with David Fickling Books, an imprint of Random House and publisher of his 2011 children's novel, Moon Pie.
He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers: The Quigleys (Highly Commended in the UK's Branford Boase Award), The Quigleys at Large, The Quigleys Not for Sale, and The Quigleys in a Spin. He has also written three adult novels.
Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.
He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers: The Quigleys (Highly Commended in the UK's Branford Boase Award), The Quigleys at Large, The Quigleys Not for Sale, and The Quigleys in a Spin. He has also written three adult novels.
Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 17, 2024
Missing Person: Alice is the second book in the Finder Mysteries series by British author, Simon Mason. In mid-July, 2015, twelve-year-old Alice Johnson doesn’t turn up to school: her bag of papers is located part-way through her morning paper round; a motorist sees her some distance from there, apparently heading for the highway; a businesswoman spots her in a town some distance away, chatting to the driver of a black car, then getting in. She isn’t seen again, and no body is found.
Nine years later, Vince Burns is arrested for the murder of fourteen-year-old schoolgirl, Joleen Price, and proximity puts him under suspicion for Alice’s possible abduction: he had the opportunity, and he doesn’t have an alibi. His attitude during questioning about Alice is strangely coy.
Former police detective, Talib, aka The Finder, is called in to review the missing person case. He studies the file, and interviews those associated with the case: the police SIO, the witnesses, and Alice’s mother, her father, the woman Rob Johnson lived with at the time, staff, teachers and classmates at her school, her newsagent employer. The owner of his B&B offers an opinion.
The witness statements seem to contradict one another, while the girl described by those who should have known her well were inconsistent enough that a teacher wondered if she was “a girl deliberately presenting others with different, sometimes contradictory, versions of herself.”
The Finder traces her route from where she was last seen and speculates on possible destinations that might have put her in Burns’s orbit. He interviews Burns, and wonders if the man’s coyness about Alice may point to a desire for notoriety rather than actual guilt.
He keeps in mind all the potential reasons that a pre-teen might go missing: “Because they are forcibly abducted. Because they are persuaded or coerced. Because they are frightened. Because they want to escape. Because they are rescued. Because they have done something terrible. Because they are victims of a crime. And also, sometimes, for no reason they could ever explain, out of an inexplicable but overwhelming need.” What applies to Alice Johnson?
The finder’s own story is only hinted at, but it’s clear he is intelligent and thorough, compassionate and kind. When the B&B owner is curious about his motivation for such a challenging job, he muses “Would I have said that I was driven to find out the truth, to ‘change the picture’, to replace a false story with the true one?”
When he witnesses a heated exchange between Alice’s still grieving, embittered, estranged parents, he wonders if the novel he’s reading in his down time offers a clue to the truth? The plot takes a few turns and, even though the astute reader may have a strong suspicion about Alice’s fate, especially if they have read the other book in this series, the reveal is definitely worth persisting for. More of this series will be most welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus Books/riverrun.
Nine years later, Vince Burns is arrested for the murder of fourteen-year-old schoolgirl, Joleen Price, and proximity puts him under suspicion for Alice’s possible abduction: he had the opportunity, and he doesn’t have an alibi. His attitude during questioning about Alice is strangely coy.
Former police detective, Talib, aka The Finder, is called in to review the missing person case. He studies the file, and interviews those associated with the case: the police SIO, the witnesses, and Alice’s mother, her father, the woman Rob Johnson lived with at the time, staff, teachers and classmates at her school, her newsagent employer. The owner of his B&B offers an opinion.
The witness statements seem to contradict one another, while the girl described by those who should have known her well were inconsistent enough that a teacher wondered if she was “a girl deliberately presenting others with different, sometimes contradictory, versions of herself.”
The Finder traces her route from where she was last seen and speculates on possible destinations that might have put her in Burns’s orbit. He interviews Burns, and wonders if the man’s coyness about Alice may point to a desire for notoriety rather than actual guilt.
He keeps in mind all the potential reasons that a pre-teen might go missing: “Because they are forcibly abducted. Because they are persuaded or coerced. Because they are frightened. Because they want to escape. Because they are rescued. Because they have done something terrible. Because they are victims of a crime. And also, sometimes, for no reason they could ever explain, out of an inexplicable but overwhelming need.” What applies to Alice Johnson?
The finder’s own story is only hinted at, but it’s clear he is intelligent and thorough, compassionate and kind. When the B&B owner is curious about his motivation for such a challenging job, he muses “Would I have said that I was driven to find out the truth, to ‘change the picture’, to replace a false story with the true one?”
When he witnesses a heated exchange between Alice’s still grieving, embittered, estranged parents, he wonders if the novel he’s reading in his down time offers a clue to the truth? The plot takes a few turns and, even though the astute reader may have a strong suspicion about Alice’s fate, especially if they have read the other book in this series, the reveal is definitely worth persisting for. More of this series will be most welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus Books/riverrun.
July 26, 2024
As a big fan of the Ryan Wilkins series it was a no brainer to request the new novellas from Simon Mason.
Pleased to see something new I started this with excitement but quickly found it to be a very different proposition from the aforementioned series. A slow moving story begins written with a very noir style as we meet the ‘finder’ an Iraqi ex policeman looking at cold cases.
As he slowly and deliberately works back through the case of the missing Alice, he manages to eke out information and threads his predecessors did not,
The story plays out well, though I didn’t enjoy the constant reference to a book the protagonist was reading,
The finale is a well written surprise.
I have been granted access to the 2nd Novella which I originally planned to read in quick succession but with the meandering pace of this one I’ll need a couple of books in between before returning.
By no means a book I didn’t enjoy, just after a grim read that lacks any pace or humour, it’s nice to take a break before being drawn back into the dark
Pleased to see something new I started this with excitement but quickly found it to be a very different proposition from the aforementioned series. A slow moving story begins written with a very noir style as we meet the ‘finder’ an Iraqi ex policeman looking at cold cases.
As he slowly and deliberately works back through the case of the missing Alice, he manages to eke out information and threads his predecessors did not,
The story plays out well, though I didn’t enjoy the constant reference to a book the protagonist was reading,
The finale is a well written surprise.
I have been granted access to the 2nd Novella which I originally planned to read in quick succession but with the meandering pace of this one I’ll need a couple of books in between before returning.
By no means a book I didn’t enjoy, just after a grim read that lacks any pace or humour, it’s nice to take a break before being drawn back into the dark
December 31, 2025
A reliably good mystery novel. This was somewhat reminiscent of Mason’s Running Girl whilst still being distinguished.
In the foreground: a mystery of a missing girl. In the background: an intense exploration into her character and the relationship between children and parents and vice versa. Simple though it may seem, the victim profile created through the simple musings of the protagonist were extremely vivid, to the extent that, for me, Alice was a very real person. This made the ending of the book all the more cathartic.
There were quite a few red herrings although the ending could still be predicted if you’re well-versed in mysteries and have a good instinct for these things. But a lot of the pieces of the puzzle were only slowly revealed, so the exact answer could never be guessed and that always kept me on my toes.
Most of all, there’s a somber tone to this. It’s a quiet mystery; an internal conflict as much an external one. The writing style very much leant itself to this and a lot of the musings were poignant making this a book I consider to be quite beautiful.
In the foreground: a mystery of a missing girl. In the background: an intense exploration into her character and the relationship between children and parents and vice versa. Simple though it may seem, the victim profile created through the simple musings of the protagonist were extremely vivid, to the extent that, for me, Alice was a very real person. This made the ending of the book all the more cathartic.
There were quite a few red herrings although the ending could still be predicted if you’re well-versed in mysteries and have a good instinct for these things. But a lot of the pieces of the puzzle were only slowly revealed, so the exact answer could never be guessed and that always kept me on my toes.
Most of all, there’s a somber tone to this. It’s a quiet mystery; an internal conflict as much an external one. The writing style very much leant itself to this and a lot of the musings were poignant making this a book I consider to be quite beautiful.
July 20, 2025
An unputdownable “finder” read.
The book reads like an “older” murder mystery but it works perfectly with the story.
The book reads like an “older” murder mystery but it works perfectly with the story.
November 21, 2025
Excellent. Exactly what a book should be: you think along with the narrator, go this way, then another way - all very satisfactory. If this Finder series were to continue, I wonder whether we find out more about the narrator. The hint is there that he looks a bit different from the English but I am interested in his speech, i.e. accent. He must be quite a guy to get people to talk to him, like here Mrs Wentworth.
January 22, 2026
Unexpectedly satisfying, and really quite fabulous. Made me think about why I give a 5-tar rating, momentarily, until I realized no one gives a shit and if I loved it, then that's why. Ha! I am not much for mysteries, especially when it is a serial. For me those always fall away from the mystery and tangent off into stupid relationship trash with the extremely stereotypical (drunk, adulterous, utterly untrustful, probably a felon with a badge, etc.etc.etc.) police officer/investigator/whatever. This had zero of that, and holyfuck was I ecstatic. Brilliantly plotted narrative, which had enough possibles to be increasingly intriguing, and enough small side plots to really make for a thoroughly engrossing read, but no stupidasstwists or red herrings to stretch out the page count. The lead - the Finder - Talib, is perfectly written, and the cast of characters is just long enough to flesh things out without needing a Cliffs Notes to keep track. Unseemliness and ugly things are in the mix, but there is less focus on them, or less gratuitous staying on them at least, which I loved. I was not able to stop reading, which led to cold coffee and no additional cookies for a bit, but my caffeine and sugar levels hardly needed a topping off anyway. I am well excited t get to the next book.
September 5, 2024
This is an intriguing story told in the first person from the point of view of a missing person investigator called the Finder. It’s a bit like a modern version of the Rockford Files, a beloved tv programme from my childhood, in the way the author talks directly to the reader.
The Finder is tasked with searching for Alice Johnson, a 12 year old newspaper delivery girl who has disappeared 9 years earlier.
Her warring and unpleasant parents have had no closure but when a killer, in prison for a murder of another girl, claims to know about where she is, the Finder is asked to reopen the investigation and talks to witnesses and her family.
I enjoyed the way the book was narrated, there was a little personal information about the Finder although most of it read like a report into the investigation and how it was concluded. It was quite factual but as a literary technique it worked well. The Finder, himself, is reading a Henry James novel about an unhappy girl who has to choose which parent should look after her and this has a baring on the story.
“Missing Person: Alice” is the first in a new series by this excellent author who has written some compelling thrillers featuring the unusual detective Ryan Wilkins which I veritably devoured over the last few years.
I’m now looking forward to starting the 2nd book in the Finder series which is being published at the same time.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.
The Finder is tasked with searching for Alice Johnson, a 12 year old newspaper delivery girl who has disappeared 9 years earlier.
Her warring and unpleasant parents have had no closure but when a killer, in prison for a murder of another girl, claims to know about where she is, the Finder is asked to reopen the investigation and talks to witnesses and her family.
I enjoyed the way the book was narrated, there was a little personal information about the Finder although most of it read like a report into the investigation and how it was concluded. It was quite factual but as a literary technique it worked well. The Finder, himself, is reading a Henry James novel about an unhappy girl who has to choose which parent should look after her and this has a baring on the story.
“Missing Person: Alice” is the first in a new series by this excellent author who has written some compelling thrillers featuring the unusual detective Ryan Wilkins which I veritably devoured over the last few years.
I’m now looking forward to starting the 2nd book in the Finder series which is being published at the same time.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.
November 9, 2025
This short, elegant mystery novel, the second in Mason's "Finder" series, is fantastic. It's about the investigation into a 12-year-old schoolgirl who went missing while doing her paper round in Sevenoaks, Kent nine years earlier. The first-person narration by Talib, a former policeman known as "Finder," is remarkably sensitive and insightful. While conducting his investigation, Talib brings along a copy of the novel What Maisie Knew by Henry James, which he reads in his spare time. He begins to observe parallels in the story and his investigation of young Alice Johnson. (For completeness, I immediately downloaded the ebook of What Maisie Knew, which is in the public domain.)
Mason's novel is expertly plotted, meticulously detailed, socially relevant, features deeply-drawn characters, and has a great twist in the final pages. It's everything I hope for in a mystery novel, indeed, in fiction. Mason is a wonderful discovery whose name is worth shouting from the rooftops. Read this exceptionally fine novel!
Mason's novel is expertly plotted, meticulously detailed, socially relevant, features deeply-drawn characters, and has a great twist in the final pages. It's everything I hope for in a mystery novel, indeed, in fiction. Mason is a wonderful discovery whose name is worth shouting from the rooftops. Read this exceptionally fine novel!
November 3, 2024
A very slowly plotted book that did drag quite a bit. We were always being told that he was on his way to an address, given descriptions of the surroundings then and only then are we told who the person is. Frustrating initially then I got fed up with it.
Basically, a big disappointment after the two Ryan books.
Basically, a big disappointment after the two Ryan books.
May 30, 2025
4.5*
This is the first book in a new series from Simon Mason, who writes the DI Wilkins books. It is a fairly short listen at 5 1/2 hours and I found it a little slow at first, but once I got into the story I was totally hooked and didn't stop listening until I found out what happened to Alice all those years ago.. It is written in the first person and the plot is complicated but allows the reader to follow every part of the investigation. VWe don't get much personal info or backstory to The Finder. Perhaps this will change in future books.
This is the first book in a new series from Simon Mason, who writes the DI Wilkins books. It is a fairly short listen at 5 1/2 hours and I found it a little slow at first, but once I got into the story I was totally hooked and didn't stop listening until I found out what happened to Alice all those years ago.. It is written in the first person and the plot is complicated but allows the reader to follow every part of the investigation. VWe don't get much personal info or backstory to The Finder. Perhaps this will change in future books.
February 15, 2026
Read it in one afternoon ! Loved how slow and procedural it was, and appreciated that The Finder’s character wasn’t centre stage bc I really do not care about a detective’s personal life - usually divorced/substance abuse/difficult relationship with daughter etc etc. Now the solution - was fine, but one I’ve heard before in a Morse. It was the rest of the book that I enjoyed with good twists. Think I’m going to read the next one. Also Kent represent.
January 8, 2025
Oundle Crime was first introduced to the author Simon Mason when we read two of his books (A Killing in November and Broken Afternoon) about the Detective Inspectors Wilkins – Ryan and Ray. We loved them. Now Mason has started a new crime series for adults known as The Finder Mysteries, and Missing Person: Alice is the first of two books (so far), both of which were published last September.
The narrator of this story – Finder – is actually an ex-policeman called Talib. A few years before, during a cost-cutting exercise, he had accepted redundancy and gone freelance as a specialist finder of missing people. His clients are usually police authorities, trying to keep their payroll costs down by using third-party contractors. In this case the missing girl, Alice Johnson, was just twelve years old when she disappeared in July 2015. She’d been doing her early morning paper round and her bag, which was half full of undelivered papers, had been found lying on the pavement of a residential street in Sevenoaks. Despite a couple of sightings, no trace of Alice had ever been found but now, nine years later, the police have reopened the file because comments made by a local man under arrest on suspicion of the murder of another girl have made them believe he might also be responsible for Alice’s disappearance.
Finder arrives by train and books into a Bed & Breakfast, run by a woman called Mrs Wentworth and, having settled in, starts to re-trace Alice’s movements. He interviews the suspected murderer and he talks to Alice’s parents (who were divorced before Alice disappeared), the people who thought they’d seen her on the day she went missing, girls who had been at school with her, and many others. The picture of Alice that emerges is that of an enigma. She wasn’t just a quiet child, she sounds as if she had been almost invisible, with no real friends and no-one who can tell Finder what she was like. Even her parents struggle to describe her or paint a picture of her personality, likes or dislikes. Each of them is wrapped up in their own anger and has a firm conviction that the police messed up their original investigation. And the police are eager to charge their prisoner with another murder to make his conviction a sure-fire certainty. Finder has very few clues to work with and when he does discover what happened, it’s not what you think.
My verdict
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be looking for more in the series. If a crime mystery can be beautifully written, this fits the bill. In places it’s quite lyrical.
The reader moves around Sevenoaks with Finder, seeing what he sees and hearing from an assortment of characters. Slowly the minutiae of Alice’s life is revealed, quietly prised out of the people Finder talks to; usually when they haven’t ever realised they had any information to impart. It’s not long before you have a picture of Alice in your mind’s eye; and an idea of her relationships with the adults around her and her classmates at school. ‘Still waters run deep’ would be an apt description, but only once you’ve seen all the different pieces of the jigsaw. Towards the end I had a faint suspicion of what might have happened but I remained unsure until the truth was revealed.
What I found clever about this book is the way Simon Mason draws you through the story. It’s actually quite slow-moving, but so carefully constructed the reader can enjoy every turn of the plot. It left me trying to work out why this felt so different from so many crime mysteries and the only thing I could come up with was that it was relaxing to read. There’s no hyperbole in the novel. In places the prose is even sparse. But Mason paints a vivid picture of Finder’s investigation, the places he goes, the people he meets. It’s written so well the characters and places are in your head before you know it.
Missing person: Alice is an unassuming mystery and if you’re looking for a plot with lots of action and impetus, this won’t be for you. But if you enjoy a well-written, considered and cleverly plotted story do read it. The author Clare Chambers is quoted on the cover saying it’s a “…British version of Maigret” and that’s quite a good description.
Review by: Cornish Eskimo
The narrator of this story – Finder – is actually an ex-policeman called Talib. A few years before, during a cost-cutting exercise, he had accepted redundancy and gone freelance as a specialist finder of missing people. His clients are usually police authorities, trying to keep their payroll costs down by using third-party contractors. In this case the missing girl, Alice Johnson, was just twelve years old when she disappeared in July 2015. She’d been doing her early morning paper round and her bag, which was half full of undelivered papers, had been found lying on the pavement of a residential street in Sevenoaks. Despite a couple of sightings, no trace of Alice had ever been found but now, nine years later, the police have reopened the file because comments made by a local man under arrest on suspicion of the murder of another girl have made them believe he might also be responsible for Alice’s disappearance.
Finder arrives by train and books into a Bed & Breakfast, run by a woman called Mrs Wentworth and, having settled in, starts to re-trace Alice’s movements. He interviews the suspected murderer and he talks to Alice’s parents (who were divorced before Alice disappeared), the people who thought they’d seen her on the day she went missing, girls who had been at school with her, and many others. The picture of Alice that emerges is that of an enigma. She wasn’t just a quiet child, she sounds as if she had been almost invisible, with no real friends and no-one who can tell Finder what she was like. Even her parents struggle to describe her or paint a picture of her personality, likes or dislikes. Each of them is wrapped up in their own anger and has a firm conviction that the police messed up their original investigation. And the police are eager to charge their prisoner with another murder to make his conviction a sure-fire certainty. Finder has very few clues to work with and when he does discover what happened, it’s not what you think.
My verdict
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be looking for more in the series. If a crime mystery can be beautifully written, this fits the bill. In places it’s quite lyrical.
The reader moves around Sevenoaks with Finder, seeing what he sees and hearing from an assortment of characters. Slowly the minutiae of Alice’s life is revealed, quietly prised out of the people Finder talks to; usually when they haven’t ever realised they had any information to impart. It’s not long before you have a picture of Alice in your mind’s eye; and an idea of her relationships with the adults around her and her classmates at school. ‘Still waters run deep’ would be an apt description, but only once you’ve seen all the different pieces of the jigsaw. Towards the end I had a faint suspicion of what might have happened but I remained unsure until the truth was revealed.
What I found clever about this book is the way Simon Mason draws you through the story. It’s actually quite slow-moving, but so carefully constructed the reader can enjoy every turn of the plot. It left me trying to work out why this felt so different from so many crime mysteries and the only thing I could come up with was that it was relaxing to read. There’s no hyperbole in the novel. In places the prose is even sparse. But Mason paints a vivid picture of Finder’s investigation, the places he goes, the people he meets. It’s written so well the characters and places are in your head before you know it.
Missing person: Alice is an unassuming mystery and if you’re looking for a plot with lots of action and impetus, this won’t be for you. But if you enjoy a well-written, considered and cleverly plotted story do read it. The author Clare Chambers is quoted on the cover saying it’s a “…British version of Maigret” and that’s quite a good description.
Review by: Cornish Eskimo
January 2, 2025
A missing girl and a man hired to find out what happened to her nine years later. I am afraid I was quite disappointed with this - the writing was very pedestrian and even dull at times. Long descriptions of various journeys by road and rail and of the architecture of suburban houses plus, what seemed to me to be, unnecessarily explicit descriptions of child murders.
I’ve given it three stars but 2 and a half is probably more accurate.
I’ve given it three stars but 2 and a half is probably more accurate.
August 29, 2025
I read this in a few hours. Refreshing no frills cold case. Police contract the 'Finder' who retraces the steps of a missing 11 year old school girl.
March 19, 2025
I discovered Simon Mason through the brilliant Ryan Wilkins series. This is also a police procedural and although it’s very different, it’s (almost) as good. I loved it.
The Finder Mysteries is a new series narrated by an enigmatic character called The Finder (his real name is Talib but we only lean tantalising scraps about his life). He’s an ex-police officer who now freelances to the police force, specialising in missing person cold cases. In this case it’s the disappearance of 12 year old Alice in the midst of a paper delivery run nine years ago. The police have reopened the case thinking it might be connected to a more recent murder.
If you like fast paced, twisty thrillers that keep you on your toes, this might not be the book for you. It’s about the painstaking work of an investigation. Retreading well-worked ground, following clues, piecing disparate conversations together, backtracking when you realise you’ve hit a dead end, gradually forming a picture. I found it immersive and utterly compelling. It reminded me in some ways of Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto and I gather it’s also similar in feel to the Maigret novels, which I haven’t (yet) read.
It’s a completely absorbing read with a very plausible and satisfying ending. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series.
The Finder Mysteries is a new series narrated by an enigmatic character called The Finder (his real name is Talib but we only lean tantalising scraps about his life). He’s an ex-police officer who now freelances to the police force, specialising in missing person cold cases. In this case it’s the disappearance of 12 year old Alice in the midst of a paper delivery run nine years ago. The police have reopened the case thinking it might be connected to a more recent murder.
If you like fast paced, twisty thrillers that keep you on your toes, this might not be the book for you. It’s about the painstaking work of an investigation. Retreading well-worked ground, following clues, piecing disparate conversations together, backtracking when you realise you’ve hit a dead end, gradually forming a picture. I found it immersive and utterly compelling. It reminded me in some ways of Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto and I gather it’s also similar in feel to the Maigret novels, which I haven’t (yet) read.
It’s a completely absorbing read with a very plausible and satisfying ending. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series.
January 5, 2025
Absolutely cracking book, beautifully written and poignant. An unusual principal character Talib is Iraq-born, his parents were killed in a bomb attack, his job is to back up the regular detectives in his role as a 'Finder'. In this case it is 12-year-old Alice. Was she a victim of a child killer who is in custody or of someone else that the hero speaks with. His is a more psychological tack. There is nice interplay in the relationship between him and the B&B landlady Mrs Wentworth, climaxing with a very moving scene. There is a nice touch too in Talib reading Henry James's What Maisie Knew. Characters are all well-drawn from the hot-headed father to the embittered ex-wife, no mean feat in a book of just 228 pages (I did not read the kindle version as advertised). Definitely going to read his previous books and indebted to Jack at Daunt Books in Marylebone for pointing me in his direction.
September 25, 2024
When the body of schoolgirl Joleen Price is pulled from a Kent lake, and local man Vince Burns is detained for her murder, SIO Dave Armstrong is convinced that Burns is also responsible for the disappearance of another young girl around the same time. Armstrong calls in the man known as Finder to look into the case of twelve-year-old Alice Johnson, who went missing from near-by Sevenoaks in 2015, and has never been found.
Finder starts at the beginning - the moment Alice vanished in the middle of her early-morning paper-round, leaving her bag discarded on the pavement. Was she really the victim of the smirking predator Burns? Armstrong believes so, but Finder is not so sure. Whatever happened to her, it seems those around her did not really know her...
Missing Person, Alice is the first of a new series by Simon Mason, author of the brilliant DI Wilkins series, introducing compelling new character, Iraqi-born Tahib, aka Finder. The novella unfurls in the first person narrative of Finder as he questions the people connected with the case, works through the evidence collected in the original inquiry, and unearths suprising new leads.
Mason maintains suspense and mystery in the clever way he does, keeping you guessing about Alice's fate until almost the very last moment of the novella. His characters are beautifully drawn, evoking responses that take you through a spectacular range of contrasting emotions (Burns is particularly unsettling). Finder's detached, rational style means he is cool as a cucumber, even in the face of intense provocation from those around him. This proves to be very helpful to him as he doggedly follows the trail of clues, and he has an innate ability to be able to elicit information purely by knowing when to speak and when to listen.
For everything you learn about the case, and Finder's ability to live up to his prodigious reputation, the man himself remains a curious mystery. He talks very little about himself, but Mason drops an intriguing hint or two about his past. I think there is a lot still to discover on that front, and look forward to how Mason reveals what lies under that unruffled surface, over the course of the series.
Mason packs a lot of rich themes into this novella. He uses Finder's musings over the book What Maisie Knew by Henry James, which he is reading during the investigation, so cleverly. The themes of childhood innocence in the face of bewildering neglect, abusive adult behaviour, and coming of age, that run through James' book, fit neatly with what Finder discovers about Alice's case. I also loved how Mason examines the wide ranging impact of a missing person on those left behind, starting with friends and family and encompassing the community as a whole. There are interesting things to ponder about quite how much we know about what lies in the hearts and minds of our children, and how they see us too.
This is a cracking first instalment of the Finder series. I swallowed it whole, entirely engrossed by plot, characterisation, and Mason's accomplished writing. So good, I am moving straight on to book two, The Case of the Lonely Accountant (which has been released at the same time as book one).
If you love the missing person investigation aspects of Tim Weaver's excellent David Raker books, then you will really enjoy this!
Finder starts at the beginning - the moment Alice vanished in the middle of her early-morning paper-round, leaving her bag discarded on the pavement. Was she really the victim of the smirking predator Burns? Armstrong believes so, but Finder is not so sure. Whatever happened to her, it seems those around her did not really know her...
Missing Person, Alice is the first of a new series by Simon Mason, author of the brilliant DI Wilkins series, introducing compelling new character, Iraqi-born Tahib, aka Finder. The novella unfurls in the first person narrative of Finder as he questions the people connected with the case, works through the evidence collected in the original inquiry, and unearths suprising new leads.
Mason maintains suspense and mystery in the clever way he does, keeping you guessing about Alice's fate until almost the very last moment of the novella. His characters are beautifully drawn, evoking responses that take you through a spectacular range of contrasting emotions (Burns is particularly unsettling). Finder's detached, rational style means he is cool as a cucumber, even in the face of intense provocation from those around him. This proves to be very helpful to him as he doggedly follows the trail of clues, and he has an innate ability to be able to elicit information purely by knowing when to speak and when to listen.
For everything you learn about the case, and Finder's ability to live up to his prodigious reputation, the man himself remains a curious mystery. He talks very little about himself, but Mason drops an intriguing hint or two about his past. I think there is a lot still to discover on that front, and look forward to how Mason reveals what lies under that unruffled surface, over the course of the series.
Mason packs a lot of rich themes into this novella. He uses Finder's musings over the book What Maisie Knew by Henry James, which he is reading during the investigation, so cleverly. The themes of childhood innocence in the face of bewildering neglect, abusive adult behaviour, and coming of age, that run through James' book, fit neatly with what Finder discovers about Alice's case. I also loved how Mason examines the wide ranging impact of a missing person on those left behind, starting with friends and family and encompassing the community as a whole. There are interesting things to ponder about quite how much we know about what lies in the hearts and minds of our children, and how they see us too.
This is a cracking first instalment of the Finder series. I swallowed it whole, entirely engrossed by plot, characterisation, and Mason's accomplished writing. So good, I am moving straight on to book two, The Case of the Lonely Accountant (which has been released at the same time as book one).
If you love the missing person investigation aspects of Tim Weaver's excellent David Raker books, then you will really enjoy this!
January 31, 2025
For my listening during morning walks, I thought I’d try a new series. This is the first of the Finder Mysteries focused on Talib, a specialist in finding people.
In 2015, 12-year-old Alice Johnson went missing from Sevenoaks, southeast of London, and was never found. Nine years later the body of another girl is found and a man named Vince Burns is charged. Police also suspect him in Alice’s disappearance so they hire the Finder to find anything that may have been missed in the initial investigation. He interviews those who knew Alice and learns about a girl who seems an enigma. Witness statements often paint contradictory impressions of the young girl. Which was the real Alice and what happened to her?
Talib remains much of a mystery since little is learned about him. He was born in Iraq and his parents were killed in a bomb attack. Perhaps more of his backstory will be revealed in later installments in the series. What does emerge is his personality: he is intelligent, determined, thorough, and compassionate. He is also self-controlled so not easily ruffled.
This is not an action-packed book since the focus is the investigation of a cold case. The Finder interviews people and decides on a course of action based on what he discovers after each conversation. This is a quiet, measured detective story which is cleverly plotted. It works well as an audiobook.
I liked that there are lots of clues throughout. Even the book Talib is reading provides insight into Alice and suggests possible motivations. I appreciated one character’s comment that people sometimes present contradictory versions of themselves to different people. And there is some thematic depth in this short novel; it examines the impact of a missing person on those left behind – family, acquaintances, and the community as a whole.
I really enjoyed this unassuming book so I’ve already downloaded the second book in the series, The Case of the Lonely Accountant. A third book, The Woman Who Laughed, is scheduled for release in 2025.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://substack.com/@doreenyakabuski) for over 1,100 of my book reviews.
In 2015, 12-year-old Alice Johnson went missing from Sevenoaks, southeast of London, and was never found. Nine years later the body of another girl is found and a man named Vince Burns is charged. Police also suspect him in Alice’s disappearance so they hire the Finder to find anything that may have been missed in the initial investigation. He interviews those who knew Alice and learns about a girl who seems an enigma. Witness statements often paint contradictory impressions of the young girl. Which was the real Alice and what happened to her?
Talib remains much of a mystery since little is learned about him. He was born in Iraq and his parents were killed in a bomb attack. Perhaps more of his backstory will be revealed in later installments in the series. What does emerge is his personality: he is intelligent, determined, thorough, and compassionate. He is also self-controlled so not easily ruffled.
This is not an action-packed book since the focus is the investigation of a cold case. The Finder interviews people and decides on a course of action based on what he discovers after each conversation. This is a quiet, measured detective story which is cleverly plotted. It works well as an audiobook.
I liked that there are lots of clues throughout. Even the book Talib is reading provides insight into Alice and suggests possible motivations. I appreciated one character’s comment that people sometimes present contradictory versions of themselves to different people. And there is some thematic depth in this short novel; it examines the impact of a missing person on those left behind – family, acquaintances, and the community as a whole.
I really enjoyed this unassuming book so I’ve already downloaded the second book in the series, The Case of the Lonely Accountant. A third book, The Woman Who Laughed, is scheduled for release in 2025.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://substack.com/@doreenyakabuski) for over 1,100 of my book reviews.
August 31, 2025
The narrator of this book calls himself a Finder: a former police officer now freelancing as a specialist in missing persons. We know very little about him, except that he is originally from Baghdad, has lived in the UK for decades and that his parents died during the American invasion. That's about all we find out about him(thank Heavens, not another divorced, alcoholic, jazz-loving cynical ex-cop!). He has been called in because a recently arrested murderer is hinting that he might also have had something to do with the decade-old disappearance of Alice, a schoolgirl who vanished during her paper round. So the Finder moves quietly into a local B&B and starts retracing Alice's life, which seems to have suffered a major break around the time of her parents' divorce. An overprotective mother, an uninterested father, no real friends. Who WAS Alice? Where did the money from her paper round go? And where did Alice herself spend the two afternoons a weeks she was supposedly participating in school sports? Step by step the Finder follows up every lead, helped by a little bit of luck and sharp sense of what pieces of information don't fit the emerging puzzle. This is the type of painstaking police/private eye procedural that I like, and I enjoyed this book. I will keep an eye open for the next one in this series.
October 12, 2024
A good part of my disappointment with this novel is having too high expectations. I LOVED ‘A Killing in November’ and ‘A Broken Afternoon’ for their brilliant characters and clever plots. This one is nothing like those. The narrator - the ‘finder’ - despite having lots of empathy for the people he meets, is incredibly boring to hang out with. The story is slow, the missing girl completely uninteresting, and the ‘witnesses’ he interviews to piece together what happened to Alice, also incredibly bland. Maybe they are just too much like the unremarkable individuals one meets in real life. But that’s not what we read crime novels for is it? Yes, we want those moments of recognition and insight, yes we want to look through the writer’s lens on a world as varied and extraordinary as it undoubtedly is, but we also need to be entertained. We need a shaped and riveting story with most of the boring bits left out. This - sadly - is not what we get with Alice, and while I stuck it out to the end in the hope of some extraordinary revelation, to mitigate the tedium of the narrative, there wasn’t one. Disappointed.
May 4, 2025
I loved this. A short, compelling piece of pure detective fiction. The Finder (a thoughtful low-key narrator) goes to Sevenoaks to search for a schoolgirl who went missing nine years ago.
Apparently influenced by the Maigret books, which I haven’t read, but there’s something very unusual about this one and it did remind me slightly of the Swedish Martin Beck series in the narrative tone, which is deliberately mundane and low-key from the very first page. If you don’t enjoy the way it starts, you probably won’t enjoy this - but I *loved* that very specific calm detail, and felt I was in safe hands throughout.
It’s one step after another, very controlled and well-paced, layers being peeled off at every stage. There’s a murder investigation and some tension but it’s all kind of pushed to the background while in the foreground our investigator concentrates on his methodical work. And I really enjoyed that forensic calmness about it.
It’s quite self-consciously literary - the investigation is paralleled by a Henry James novel.
I absolutely loved it. Read it straight through in a couple of hours (it’s very short) and immediately ordered the next two in the series.
Apparently influenced by the Maigret books, which I haven’t read, but there’s something very unusual about this one and it did remind me slightly of the Swedish Martin Beck series in the narrative tone, which is deliberately mundane and low-key from the very first page. If you don’t enjoy the way it starts, you probably won’t enjoy this - but I *loved* that very specific calm detail, and felt I was in safe hands throughout.
It’s one step after another, very controlled and well-paced, layers being peeled off at every stage. There’s a murder investigation and some tension but it’s all kind of pushed to the background while in the foreground our investigator concentrates on his methodical work. And I really enjoyed that forensic calmness about it.
It’s quite self-consciously literary - the investigation is paralleled by a Henry James novel.
I absolutely loved it. Read it straight through in a couple of hours (it’s very short) and immediately ordered the next two in the series.
August 26, 2024
An unusual take on a crime book, Talib is a "finder", some one who looks into missing persons. This book is set in and around Sevenoaks in Kent. When a girl is found murdered and sexually assaulted, the police want to look into the disappearance of 12 year old Alice, who went missing 9 years ago. The book is told from the point of view of the finder, who interviews people involved with Alice and gradually pieces her movements together. Talib is a mystery at first, only gradually do we get to know them and about their family and work history. Slow moving, but in a good way, the descriptions of people and places are enjoyable and detailed so you get a good picture of the scenes when you are reading. Talib is wise about human nature, seeing what makes people tick and knowing which questions to ask. All in all this adds up to a fascinating and interesting read with a couple of plot twists .
Thanks to NEt Galley for a great read, I am moving on to the next in the series
Thanks to NEt Galley for a great read, I am moving on to the next in the series
June 6, 2025
After being so taken with three DI Wilkins novels, I was looking forward to this new series. Unfortunately , I found it flat and without the brilliant dialogue and well drawn characters that I loved. This is quite different --a very sad book, full of melancholy and regrets.
Even though the description says this book was published in 2024, I wondered if Simon Mason could have written The Finder earlier in his career? That after the success of the DI Wilkins, his publishers decided to print his earlier works?That has happened with other writers, so who knows. It's not a bad book at all-- though as others have commented, I could do without the repeated references to " What Maisie Knew." Still, I want more of Ryan Wilkins having sweet conversations with Ryan junior and calling out pompous Oxford dons as "peter perverts "and "sordid fuckrats." Yes, please. More of that.
Even though the description says this book was published in 2024, I wondered if Simon Mason could have written The Finder earlier in his career? That after the success of the DI Wilkins, his publishers decided to print his earlier works?That has happened with other writers, so who knows. It's not a bad book at all-- though as others have commented, I could do without the repeated references to " What Maisie Knew." Still, I want more of Ryan Wilkins having sweet conversations with Ryan junior and calling out pompous Oxford dons as "peter perverts "and "sordid fuckrats." Yes, please. More of that.
January 30, 2026
Missing Person : Alice by Simon Mason (September 11 2024). This launches the Finder Mysteries with a lean investigation led by Finder, a specialist hired to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of twelve‑year‑old Alice Johnson, who vanished during her paper round in Sevenoaks in 2015. Her bag was found abandoned, she was later seen standing alone in heavy rain, then talking to the driver of a black car, then she was never seen again. Nine years later, when another schoolgirl’s body is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man, Vince Burns, is detained, SIO Dave Armstrong brings in the Finder to re‑examine Alice’s case, convinced the two crimes are linked. Interviewing family, friends, and those who only thought they knew her, the Finder uncovers a far more complicated portrait of Alice. Good story.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
July 13, 2024
This was an interesting read - but very much a slow burner and I say that as a compliment. The Finder, an Iraqi Ex-policeman has been hired to find a young girl long lost in and around Sevenoaks and slowly and methodically he finds and then interviews everyone who had dealings with her at the time of her disappearance.
Slowly he sifts the evidence, retraces her steps and makes connections never previously considered. I won't spoil the ending but it was satisfactory, credible if a bit surprising.
I enjoyed the slow contemplative air of the book and enjoyed the characterisations of the main protagonists. An interesting start to a new series and thanks to NetGalley I am about to read the next one too!
Slowly he sifts the evidence, retraces her steps and makes connections never previously considered. I won't spoil the ending but it was satisfactory, credible if a bit surprising.
I enjoyed the slow contemplative air of the book and enjoyed the characterisations of the main protagonists. An interesting start to a new series and thanks to NetGalley I am about to read the next one too!
September 6, 2024
It's not an action packed/fast paced thriller nor a domestic that makes you wish you could live like a hermit.
It a drive driven investigation that goes back the facades, the lies, and the indifference. Alice disappeared, she could have been killed by a predator.
Nobody has seen her since the moment she left a bag of papers to deliver.
The Finder, the voice that tells the story, is the only one to go beyonds the impressions and the lies and to get to know Alice. There's parallel between Alice and Henry James' Maisie.
There huge twists at the end and the description of a world of adult who simply don't know or are not able to care
Loved it, poignant and gripping
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It a drive driven investigation that goes back the facades, the lies, and the indifference. Alice disappeared, she could have been killed by a predator.
Nobody has seen her since the moment she left a bag of papers to deliver.
The Finder, the voice that tells the story, is the only one to go beyonds the impressions and the lies and to get to know Alice. There's parallel between Alice and Henry James' Maisie.
There huge twists at the end and the description of a world of adult who simply don't know or are not able to care
Loved it, poignant and gripping
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
November 2, 2024
Talib, the finder, has been called in by Kent police to look into the disappearance of a 12-year old girl, Alice, eight years ago. They are convinced that a recently arrested child murderer is responsible for Alice's fate but Talib is not so sure. As he looks into Alice's absence, he draws parallels with the book her is reading, both about quiet girls whose families seem not to care. When he finds the solution, it is both unexpected and yet also predictable.
This is the first in Mason's series about a finder of missing persons, but it is the second in order that I have read. Just as before, I fell completely into this story - it's not quite a novel but quite long for a novella. The narrative is low-key but very intelligent and really draws the reader in.
This is the first in Mason's series about a finder of missing persons, but it is the second in order that I have read. Just as before, I fell completely into this story - it's not quite a novel but quite long for a novella. The narrative is low-key but very intelligent and really draws the reader in.
August 10, 2024
The first in a series featuring Talib, a refugee from Iraq and a private investigator specialising in finding missing persons.
The investigator describes the locations of his investigation meticulously, which is a good selling point for a series that will move around the country. In this first case, Alice, a teenager, disappears around Sevenoaks and the investigation encompasses Kemsing and the Weald of Kent. In his down time, Talib reads What Maisie Knew by Henry James, the story of which provides insight into the character and possible motivations of Alice.
The characters Talib meets are well drawn and believable. The mystery takes a few twists and turns. We get a glimpse of Talib’s backstory but I guess this will gradually be sketched in over the series.
The investigator describes the locations of his investigation meticulously, which is a good selling point for a series that will move around the country. In this first case, Alice, a teenager, disappears around Sevenoaks and the investigation encompasses Kemsing and the Weald of Kent. In his down time, Talib reads What Maisie Knew by Henry James, the story of which provides insight into the character and possible motivations of Alice.
The characters Talib meets are well drawn and believable. The mystery takes a few twists and turns. We get a glimpse of Talib’s backstory but I guess this will gradually be sketched in over the series.
April 24, 2025
Having loved Simon Mason's Oxford series, I decided to give this a try. It is far slower-paced series, focusing on Talib, The Finder, who is asked to investigate a cold case. Alice Johnson was a twelve year old schoolgirl who went missing during her paper round.
We follow Talib as he interviews, investigates and pieces together the clues of the past, from events in 2015 to discover whether the case is linked to the death of schoolgirl, Joleen Price, pulled from a lake nine years later. I struggled with this at first, but eventually got into the pacing of the book and look forward to reading the next in the series.
We follow Talib as he interviews, investigates and pieces together the clues of the past, from events in 2015 to discover whether the case is linked to the death of schoolgirl, Joleen Price, pulled from a lake nine years later. I struggled with this at first, but eventually got into the pacing of the book and look forward to reading the next in the series.
May 30, 2025
absolutely the best
First, I would never have read this had I not been blown away by Mr. Mason’s Ryan and Ray detective novels. I don’t typically read missing persons books but I needed to read more by Mason, and I was not disappointed. He just has the unique ability to draw me in by making the protagonists so appealing. The Finder is of Iraqi descent but a longtime UK resident with a past that drew him to his vocation. I began to see how finding the missing girl also uncovered character assets and defects of the people through whose lives she passed. A remarkable story!
Now on to the next in the series.
Please don’t stop Simon Mason.
First, I would never have read this had I not been blown away by Mr. Mason’s Ryan and Ray detective novels. I don’t typically read missing persons books but I needed to read more by Mason, and I was not disappointed. He just has the unique ability to draw me in by making the protagonists so appealing. The Finder is of Iraqi descent but a longtime UK resident with a past that drew him to his vocation. I began to see how finding the missing girl also uncovered character assets and defects of the people through whose lives she passed. A remarkable story!
Now on to the next in the series.
Please don’t stop Simon Mason.
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