Missing

by Marie Keates

It’s April 1942, and three people are missing. One presumed prisoner, one presumed dead, the other . . . who knows what happened to Doris?

No one has heard from Harold since Singapore fell. The Air Force sent a telegram saying he was ‘Missing believed prisoner of war.’ Alice is sure he’s dead, but she dare not share her fears.

The War Office says Leonard was lost when the Japanese sank HMS Hermes, but Martha knows he’s still alive. He was born with a caul. He can’t possibly have drowned.

Does a mother’s instinct trump typed words on a telegram? Or are they both wrong? And where on earth is Doris?

253 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2025

About the author

Marie Keates is a writer, blogger and walker, who can’t resist the mystery of an unexplored trail and is mad about history. She lives in Southampton, and has spent much of her life working in the travel industry and writing copy on such diverse subjects as travel, canals, running and coffee. Her interest in Southampton’s history has made her blog, www.iwalkalone.co.uk popular with local history groups, ex-Sotonians and visitors to the city. Her novels, Plagued, Land Fit For Heroes, Seventh Daughter and A Dish Best Served Cold were inspired by research into her family history and stories she heard at her grandfather’s knee.