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DI Joanna Piercy #13
Crooked Street
Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy investigates the disappearance of a young husband - and discovers all is not as it seems.
Jadon Glover is good-looking, professional, reliable and a perfect husband, according to his wife. So when he fails to return home one miserable March night, she rings the police, certain that something has happened to him. DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Korpanski are sceptical: there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. So what is the truth about Jadon?
As the investigation proceeds, it soon becomes apparent that Jadon Glover has been keeping dark secrets from his wife. And as the police pursue their house-to-house enquiries through the claustrophobic, jumbled streets of cramped Victorian terraces, they unearth other secrets from behind the net curtains. But, whatever else has been going on among the inhabitants' quiet, desperate lives, it's clear that at least one of them knows what really happened to Jadon ...
Jadon Glover is good-looking, professional, reliable and a perfect husband, according to his wife. So when he fails to return home one miserable March night, she rings the police, certain that something has happened to him. DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Korpanski are sceptical: there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. So what is the truth about Jadon?
As the investigation proceeds, it soon becomes apparent that Jadon Glover has been keeping dark secrets from his wife. And as the police pursue their house-to-house enquiries through the claustrophobic, jumbled streets of cramped Victorian terraces, they unearth other secrets from behind the net curtains. But, whatever else has been going on among the inhabitants' quiet, desperate lives, it's clear that at least one of them knows what really happened to Jadon ...
- GenresMysteryCrimeProcedural
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2017
214 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Priscilla Masters
63 books79 followersPriscilla Masters' writing career started in 1987 when she published Mr. Bateman's Garden, a children's book set in Biddulph Grange Gardens belonging to the National Trust. After that she created Inspector Joanna Piercy and has now also written a number of Medical Mysteries.
Priscilla Masters lives in Shropshire, England. She works part-time in Staffordshire as a practice nurse.
Priscilla Masters lives in Shropshire, England. She works part-time in Staffordshire as a practice nurse.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 18, 2017
Although the 13th in this series, CROOKED STREET is very effective as a stand alone.
DI Joanna Piercy and her team are investigating the disappearance of a young husband ... the perfect husband according to his wife. He's never late, and if he is, he always calls. He would never just disappear. She calls the police when he's only been gone a few hours.
As the investigation gets going, Joanna finds a lot to question. Apparently the husband has a few secrets either his wife doesn't know .. or maybe she knows, but she's not willing to say.
First of all, he doesn't work where his wife says. His job description is different from what she says. Seems like he works for a money-lending organization and once every week he goes collecting from house to house to house.
Following his footsteps, Joanna feels that somebody along his route knows something ...has seen something .. perhaps has done something.
For a police procedural, it was a little slow going while the author takes the take to build the mystery and suspense. There are lots of characters, so it's not an easy thing to figure out what really happened until the very end of the story.
The author has combined Joanna's professional life, as well as her personal, as her husband is a Medical Examiner. Normally that means a lot of excessive tension to deal with, but they seem to find a way to deal with it.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
DI Joanna Piercy and her team are investigating the disappearance of a young husband ... the perfect husband according to his wife. He's never late, and if he is, he always calls. He would never just disappear. She calls the police when he's only been gone a few hours.
As the investigation gets going, Joanna finds a lot to question. Apparently the husband has a few secrets either his wife doesn't know .. or maybe she knows, but she's not willing to say.
First of all, he doesn't work where his wife says. His job description is different from what she says. Seems like he works for a money-lending organization and once every week he goes collecting from house to house to house.
Following his footsteps, Joanna feels that somebody along his route knows something ...has seen something .. perhaps has done something.
For a police procedural, it was a little slow going while the author takes the take to build the mystery and suspense. There are lots of characters, so it's not an easy thing to figure out what really happened until the very end of the story.
The author has combined Joanna's professional life, as well as her personal, as her husband is a Medical Examiner. Normally that means a lot of excessive tension to deal with, but they seem to find a way to deal with it.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
June 27, 2019
Priscilla Masters, with her DI Joanna Piercy, was a new author for me. One of you excellent GR readers write some interesting reviews of her books. That got my attention. It was news to me that there is such a thing as 'door stop money lenders'. Ensuring that most of the borrowers will never ever get out of debt. Terrifying. But among many borrowers someone will fight back! Excellent thriller. Unputdownable.
October 27, 2016
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Crooked Street, the thirteenth novel in the DI Joanna Piercy series of police procedurals.
Eve Glover phones the police 4 hours after her very reliable husband, Jadon, doesn't return home when he says he will. The police aren't initially too worried, he's young and well off so not in the high risk category, but as time goes on there is no sign of him and investigation into his life finds a few secrets their opinion changes. Then one of his colleagues is murdered and it ups the ante.
I am new to this series so I am unfamiliar with the characters but Ms Masters does an excellent job of outlining the backstory. Joanna was "the other woman" as her husband was married when she met him although I think she was unaware of that but it causes friction with his daughter and parents. She also had problems with her sergeant, Mike Korpanski, but these are now resolved and she misses her old boss with whom she a cozy working relationship. She is a likeable character, very normal with the same issues as the rest of us.
The plot is fairly straightforward - it is the police hunt for a missing man which morphs into a murder investigation and is told mostly from Joanna's point of view. There is the hint of a subplot, the return from jail of the psychopathic Kath Whalley who has sworn revenge on Joanna, but it goes nowhere. I assume this is groundwork for the next novel.
Crooked Street is a solid, well written novel with interesting characters so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.
Eve Glover phones the police 4 hours after her very reliable husband, Jadon, doesn't return home when he says he will. The police aren't initially too worried, he's young and well off so not in the high risk category, but as time goes on there is no sign of him and investigation into his life finds a few secrets their opinion changes. Then one of his colleagues is murdered and it ups the ante.
I am new to this series so I am unfamiliar with the characters but Ms Masters does an excellent job of outlining the backstory. Joanna was "the other woman" as her husband was married when she met him although I think she was unaware of that but it causes friction with his daughter and parents. She also had problems with her sergeant, Mike Korpanski, but these are now resolved and she misses her old boss with whom she a cozy working relationship. She is a likeable character, very normal with the same issues as the rest of us.
The plot is fairly straightforward - it is the police hunt for a missing man which morphs into a murder investigation and is told mostly from Joanna's point of view. There is the hint of a subplot, the return from jail of the psychopathic Kath Whalley who has sworn revenge on Joanna, but it goes nowhere. I assume this is groundwork for the next novel.
Crooked Street is a solid, well written novel with interesting characters so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.
October 31, 2016
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
This is the thirteenth book in the Joanna Piercy series. DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Kopanski are asked to investigate the disappearance of a man whose wife describes him as a perfect husband. But there's no such thing as a perfect marriage and in any case three hours later in arriving home isn't regarded as a priority case for an adult.
Joanna and Mike are puzzled by Jadon Glover's wife as her behaviour doesn't seem to be quite right for the situation. As Jadon fails to return home the detectives dig into his background and they find the missing man has been keeping some major secrets from his wife.
The secret of his disappearance seems to lie in the cramped streets of terraced houses but who had sufficient motive to get rid of him? This is an atmospheric and disturbing police procedural novel with its background fixed firmly in the most poverty stricken section of society and it highlights a serious problem of twenty first century life.
I haven't read all this series featuring Joanna Piercy but those I have read have been well written with interesting characters and plots and I recommend it to people who enjoy their crime novels without too much violence.
This is the thirteenth book in the Joanna Piercy series. DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Kopanski are asked to investigate the disappearance of a man whose wife describes him as a perfect husband. But there's no such thing as a perfect marriage and in any case three hours later in arriving home isn't regarded as a priority case for an adult.
Joanna and Mike are puzzled by Jadon Glover's wife as her behaviour doesn't seem to be quite right for the situation. As Jadon fails to return home the detectives dig into his background and they find the missing man has been keeping some major secrets from his wife.
The secret of his disappearance seems to lie in the cramped streets of terraced houses but who had sufficient motive to get rid of him? This is an atmospheric and disturbing police procedural novel with its background fixed firmly in the most poverty stricken section of society and it highlights a serious problem of twenty first century life.
I haven't read all this series featuring Joanna Piercy but those I have read have been well written with interesting characters and plots and I recommend it to people who enjoy their crime novels without too much violence.
December 8, 2016
4 stars
This book was a little confusing in parts. Why didn't the police check into Jadon's wife sooner? Why didn't they check into the little boy who got hit by the car sooner? Why, oh why, does Joanna have to repeat everything twenty times?
Other than that, it was well-written and a little slow- paced - in those parts where she didn't repeat herself over and over. The premise was interesting. A man who collects for a “door stepping” agency goes missing. The wife is frantic, but has her own secrets. The missing man’s partners are upset and starting to get paranoid.
While the pace is a little slow, Joanna and her team get there in the end. I have to admit that I guessed the murderer early on – when I first met them. But finding out the truth was worth the effort.
I'll look into more of Priscilla Masters books. The Coroner Gunn ones look interesting.
Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House publishing for allowing me to read this book.
This book was a little confusing in parts. Why didn't the police check into Jadon's wife sooner? Why didn't they check into the little boy who got hit by the car sooner? Why, oh why, does Joanna have to repeat everything twenty times?
Other than that, it was well-written and a little slow- paced - in those parts where she didn't repeat herself over and over. The premise was interesting. A man who collects for a “door stepping” agency goes missing. The wife is frantic, but has her own secrets. The missing man’s partners are upset and starting to get paranoid.
While the pace is a little slow, Joanna and her team get there in the end. I have to admit that I guessed the murderer early on – when I first met them. But finding out the truth was worth the effort.
I'll look into more of Priscilla Masters books. The Coroner Gunn ones look interesting.
Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House publishing for allowing me to read this book.
January 29, 2017
I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this which I voluntarily reviewed.
This is the first book I've read by Ms Masters and after reading it, it certainly won't be the last.
This is a police-procedural novel concerning a missing husband but it develops into much more than just that.
The descriptions of the dark streets and the lonely moors were very atmospheric. They made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!
The characters in the book were also well described. I felt as if I knew them, although I didn't like them all.
DI Joanne Piercy and her husband Matthew were 2 people I'd like to meet.
I look forward to reading many more books in this series.
This is the first book I've read by Ms Masters and after reading it, it certainly won't be the last.
This is a police-procedural novel concerning a missing husband but it develops into much more than just that.
The descriptions of the dark streets and the lonely moors were very atmospheric. They made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!
The characters in the book were also well described. I felt as if I knew them, although I didn't like them all.
DI Joanne Piercy and her husband Matthew were 2 people I'd like to meet.
I look forward to reading many more books in this series.
November 7, 2024
This was another good British crime thriller in the box set I have. This time, a husband has vanished...which leads to a murky trail.
I liked the police methods and Jo's leadership. She's a strong character, her weakness being the selfish Matthew.
Well- written and fast-paced with a great sense of place and suitable characters for the plot.
Recommended.
I liked the police methods and Jo's leadership. She's a strong character, her weakness being the selfish Matthew.
Well- written and fast-paced with a great sense of place and suitable characters for the plot.
Recommended.
February 11, 2017
Jadon Glover, is described by his wife as the perfect husband. When he fails to return home one night (only missing for 3 hours) the police are called to investigate. The distressed wife is beautiful, very much a trophy wife who, at her husband’s insistence, no longer works. Initially DI Joanna Piercy and her DS, Mike Korpanski are skeptical about the perfect husband and as their inquiries progress all is not as it seems.
The investigation of Jadon’s movements before his disappearance takes the police to a warren of streets comprised of Victorian terraced houses, and a small children’s play area all overshadowed by a derelict Mill – a scary, desperate place for desperate people. As the story unfolds, DI Joanne Piercy concentrates her inquiries to the inhabitants of these crooked streets, Jadon’s wife, and his colleagues.
This is the setting that is crucial to the book 'The Crooked Street' and Priscilla Masters could not have given a bigger clue. The names of the streets, the routes taken by Jadon as he carried out his work, are repeated again, and again. Such repetition should lead to a clear picture of these streets, but even now it eludes me – all I can recall is the cul-de-sac. I don’t believe this to be an oversight by the author, but a clever device to underscore the cramped environment, and the cramped lives of her cast of suspects.
Written in a simplistic style the book nevertheless has clarity - not a difficult read, but this simplicity is another device used to distract the reader. The answer is there, hidden in plain text.
I look forward to reading more of Ms Masters works.
The investigation of Jadon’s movements before his disappearance takes the police to a warren of streets comprised of Victorian terraced houses, and a small children’s play area all overshadowed by a derelict Mill – a scary, desperate place for desperate people. As the story unfolds, DI Joanne Piercy concentrates her inquiries to the inhabitants of these crooked streets, Jadon’s wife, and his colleagues.
This is the setting that is crucial to the book 'The Crooked Street' and Priscilla Masters could not have given a bigger clue. The names of the streets, the routes taken by Jadon as he carried out his work, are repeated again, and again. Such repetition should lead to a clear picture of these streets, but even now it eludes me – all I can recall is the cul-de-sac. I don’t believe this to be an oversight by the author, but a clever device to underscore the cramped environment, and the cramped lives of her cast of suspects.
Written in a simplistic style the book nevertheless has clarity - not a difficult read, but this simplicity is another device used to distract the reader. The answer is there, hidden in plain text.
I look forward to reading more of Ms Masters works.
February 1, 2017
Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy mystery
Jadon Glover, the perfect husband, was expected home around nine and never arrives. Not a drinker, not a gambler, no health problems, an errant husband? His wife is under the impression he works as a financial advisor for an accounting firm but they insist they do not know of him. And it turns out the wife does not really know much about her husband at all.
DI Piercy describes the job of a detective as one that consists of asking questions. Questions unearth anomalies, lies and hidden secrets. Everyone has something they want to hide. Even perfect husbands. Jadon Glover wanted to hide the fact that his job was to lend money to desperate people and have them repay the money at exorbitant interest, week after week with no end in sight. But there is no body and no evidence of a crime. Is this going to be a case of a disappearance that is never solved? A person who simply vanishes from the face of the earth, never to be seen again and no clue as to their fate?
The story is very well written and an example of just how much drudgery police work actually is, it really made me view the police force with a different eye. All leads must be investigated and followed up on if you want to crack a case, no matter how obscure they seem. And police officers are humans too with their own burdens to bear in their private lives, yet when they go into the office these must be put aside for the good of others.
A book well worth reading.
Saphira
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
Jadon Glover, the perfect husband, was expected home around nine and never arrives. Not a drinker, not a gambler, no health problems, an errant husband? His wife is under the impression he works as a financial advisor for an accounting firm but they insist they do not know of him. And it turns out the wife does not really know much about her husband at all.
DI Piercy describes the job of a detective as one that consists of asking questions. Questions unearth anomalies, lies and hidden secrets. Everyone has something they want to hide. Even perfect husbands. Jadon Glover wanted to hide the fact that his job was to lend money to desperate people and have them repay the money at exorbitant interest, week after week with no end in sight. But there is no body and no evidence of a crime. Is this going to be a case of a disappearance that is never solved? A person who simply vanishes from the face of the earth, never to be seen again and no clue as to their fate?
The story is very well written and an example of just how much drudgery police work actually is, it really made me view the police force with a different eye. All leads must be investigated and followed up on if you want to crack a case, no matter how obscure they seem. And police officers are humans too with their own burdens to bear in their private lives, yet when they go into the office these must be put aside for the good of others.
A book well worth reading.
Saphira
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
January 4, 2017
Crooked Street was a mystery far different than I expected, but I liked it. When a young husband disappears it quickly becomes clear that his perfect life is a lie. Instead of working as an executive accountant, Jadon runs a payday lending firm. It is the kind of business that destroys lives. Desperate people borrow money, and the exorbitant interest rates make it impossible to repay. But so many people having a motive doesn't help when the body is nowhere to be found. The second death is practically a gift to the reader and to Piercy and her team - otherwise they never would have found the killer.
The part of the novel that doesn't fit are the chapters about an elderly woman moving from her remote cottage into a care facility. She has no connection to any of the characters or events apart from her cottage being a place to dump the body. Masters puts a lot of effort into developing her character - far more than necessary or expected based on her role in the book. I also find it a little implausible that the murderer found her cottage while walking a friend's dog. What town dweller walks a friend's dog into the middle of nowhere - and I mean many miles from civilization.
Where Masters is at her best is in her characterizations of Piercy and her team. They are the most developed characters in the novel. This is to be expected and is a redeeming factor. The novel is well written, but its flaws are a distraction. I'm definitely willing to try another book by Priscilla Masters, but I can't rate this one higher.
3/5
I received a copy of Crooked Street from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
The part of the novel that doesn't fit are the chapters about an elderly woman moving from her remote cottage into a care facility. She has no connection to any of the characters or events apart from her cottage being a place to dump the body. Masters puts a lot of effort into developing her character - far more than necessary or expected based on her role in the book. I also find it a little implausible that the murderer found her cottage while walking a friend's dog. What town dweller walks a friend's dog into the middle of nowhere - and I mean many miles from civilization.
Where Masters is at her best is in her characterizations of Piercy and her team. They are the most developed characters in the novel. This is to be expected and is a redeeming factor. The novel is well written, but its flaws are a distraction. I'm definitely willing to try another book by Priscilla Masters, but I can't rate this one higher.
3/5
I received a copy of Crooked Street from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
April 18, 2025
Jadon Glover is a debt collector. He goes up and down the crooked streets every Wednesdsy without fail, collecting back money thats been loanded out. One Wednesdsy he just disappears without a trace. DI Joanna Piercy is called in to find out what could have happened to Jadon.
This is the thirteenth book in the series to feature Jo Piercy. I have previously read books one and two. Normally I insist on reading books in order. I like to get to know the characters and their lives. In this instance it made little difference and from this book I have a good idea what is going on in Joanna's life.
I enjoyed this book. I found it not too long and not very taxing. There wasn't a lot of violence and the story is very police procedures.
I did think the story had an Agatha Christie feel about it. A debt collector goes missing, residents were suspects but which one could it have been. The story didn't seem twisty, its just a game of elimination.
What let the story down for me was the ending. I felt that the killer was revealed quickly. It could have been any of them and I felt the killer was drawn out of a hat. The reason behind it seemed a bit weak.
However I enjoyed this quick read and would read more but won't worry if not in order.
Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.
This is the thirteenth book in the series to feature Jo Piercy. I have previously read books one and two. Normally I insist on reading books in order. I like to get to know the characters and their lives. In this instance it made little difference and from this book I have a good idea what is going on in Joanna's life.
I enjoyed this book. I found it not too long and not very taxing. There wasn't a lot of violence and the story is very police procedures.
I did think the story had an Agatha Christie feel about it. A debt collector goes missing, residents were suspects but which one could it have been. The story didn't seem twisty, its just a game of elimination.
What let the story down for me was the ending. I felt that the killer was revealed quickly. It could have been any of them and I felt the killer was drawn out of a hat. The reason behind it seemed a bit weak.
However I enjoyed this quick read and would read more but won't worry if not in order.
Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.
February 25, 2024
Eve Glover reports that her 'perfect' husband Jadon has gone missing and DI Joanna Piercy becomes involved only to find Jadon is a door stop lender and detested by those that owe him and his colleagues cash - that appears to increase rather than decrease over time. The body cannot be found, Jadon appears to have vanished, and then his colleague is stabbed to death. An old ladies sale of her remote cottage leads to finding what's left of Jadon Glover and the historical events unravel to find a killer.
August 28, 2021
The chase is in fir a missing husband. So reliable
the wife said. Finding out that Jadon Glover is a money man.
Meaning high interest rates on small loans to mostly
people who cannot get a loan. And Jadon is the missing
person.
Go along for the ride while DI Joanna Piercy and her
partner DS Korpanski look for the murderer.
the wife said. Finding out that Jadon Glover is a money man.
Meaning high interest rates on small loans to mostly
people who cannot get a loan. And Jadon is the missing
person.
Go along for the ride while DI Joanna Piercy and her
partner DS Korpanski look for the murderer.
February 10, 2023
I have become addicted to this series. Just finished number 13 and looking forward to the next volume. the characters are complex. The developments in rekationships certainlty confirms how important communication is in growing a relationship. Interesting plots.
May 7, 2023
I am delighted to read a book with such real personalities
You do a lovely job! When I’d the Ned
T one?
Thanks ? Clever bad guys and police person that makes a mistake or two, but wraps it up delightfully
You do a lovely job! When I’d the Ned
T one?
Thanks ? Clever bad guys and police person that makes a mistake or two, but wraps it up delightfully
July 16, 2017
This book has two problems. It takes forever before anything happens and in large part it is because the police fail to pursue an obvious line of inquiry.
September 22, 2017
This is a book for people who like light detective books. I found it easy to follow and just did not want to put it down.
October 7, 2017
Another series for me to read!
October 18, 2017
It's a bit slow paced and a easy to read mystery.
July 11, 2018
Very good . Love this series .
November 12, 2019
I found this book rather plodding. I normally enjoy books in the DI Joanna Piercy series, but I found that I really didn't care who had murdered who or where or why.
July 17, 2021
My copy had 362 pages not 256. The chapters were really long. Too long.
May 6, 2023
Excellent
A different style of writing this book but I really liked it can not wait for the next instalment please
A different style of writing this book but I really liked it can not wait for the next instalment please
May 27, 2023
A grizzly story
March 1, 2025
DI Joanna Piercy No.13 . And another Cracking read. She is getting more Bearable.
January 7, 2017
‘Crooked Street’ by Priscilla Masters
Published by Severn House, 28 October 2016. ISBN: 978-0-7278-8666-8
‘My husband hasn’t come home’ says Eve Glover to the duty officer at Leek police station. ‘He’s never late’’ Although three hours isn’t regarded as a serious for an adult man, DC Hesketh-Brown logs the call and takes details. The following day Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy having established that Jadon Glover has still not returned to his home, visits his wife. Jason Glover, according to his wife is the perfect husband. Working for a professional company, they are comfortable, and relatively newly married. However, as DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Kopanski investigate they turn up information that suggests that Eve Glover doesn’t know her perfect husband all that well.
As in previous books I like following the investigation and how different enquires provide new leads. Some are a dead end and some bear fruit. In this instant they find themselves in a poorer part of the town, where the houses are terraced - small and poky. An air of poverty and uneasy silence pervades. It would appear that Jadon Glover has dark secrets. Does the truth of his disappearance lie behind the faded net curtains of these cramped dwellings?
Priscilla Masters has a gift for creating interesting characters, that leap of the page to you and you just want to know all about them. I enjoy the working relationship that Joanna Piercy has with her sergeant Mike Kopanski, although it wasn’t ever thus. This is the thirteen book in the series and it has taken sometime for their working relationship to evolve to its present camaraderie. Although she and Matthew are now together at Waterfall
Cottage, tensions still exist between Joanna and Matthews daughter by his first marriage, and sadly also with her new in-laws, but as time passes, things change.
A fascinating mystery that kept me guessing; and an uncomfortable look at the situations one can fall into when times are difficult. Clever and thought provoking this book is highly recommended.
------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett
Published by Severn House, 28 October 2016. ISBN: 978-0-7278-8666-8
‘My husband hasn’t come home’ says Eve Glover to the duty officer at Leek police station. ‘He’s never late’’ Although three hours isn’t regarded as a serious for an adult man, DC Hesketh-Brown logs the call and takes details. The following day Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy having established that Jadon Glover has still not returned to his home, visits his wife. Jason Glover, according to his wife is the perfect husband. Working for a professional company, they are comfortable, and relatively newly married. However, as DI Joanna Piercy and DS Mike Kopanski investigate they turn up information that suggests that Eve Glover doesn’t know her perfect husband all that well.
As in previous books I like following the investigation and how different enquires provide new leads. Some are a dead end and some bear fruit. In this instant they find themselves in a poorer part of the town, where the houses are terraced - small and poky. An air of poverty and uneasy silence pervades. It would appear that Jadon Glover has dark secrets. Does the truth of his disappearance lie behind the faded net curtains of these cramped dwellings?
Priscilla Masters has a gift for creating interesting characters, that leap of the page to you and you just want to know all about them. I enjoy the working relationship that Joanna Piercy has with her sergeant Mike Kopanski, although it wasn’t ever thus. This is the thirteen book in the series and it has taken sometime for their working relationship to evolve to its present camaraderie. Although she and Matthew are now together at Waterfall
Cottage, tensions still exist between Joanna and Matthews daughter by his first marriage, and sadly also with her new in-laws, but as time passes, things change.
A fascinating mystery that kept me guessing; and an uncomfortable look at the situations one can fall into when times are difficult. Clever and thought provoking this book is highly recommended.
------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett
Read
October 29, 2021Good tale. Very descriptive of surroundings and people. You think you know who-du-it but never quite sure until near the end.
October 30, 2016
I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Severn House.
Closer to a 2.5 rating on the Goodreads scale. It was only okay.
I have read several other novels by Priscilla Masters, specifically in the Martha Gunn series. Those books were so enjoyable for me that I wanted to try a book in a different series. This one just wasn't the same style of novel and I found myself rather ambivalent about the story and the characters. The pacing of the novel was simply too slow for me and the investigative methods didn't appear to be properly efficient.
Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy of Leek Police receives a frantic phone call from a woman whose husband was supposed to have been home three hours earlier. Considering all the explanations for why the husband might not have gotten home yet, DI Piercy tries to calm the wife and convince her to wait a reasonable amount of time before considering her husband to be missing. As the days pass and Jadon Glover doesn't return home the investigation into his disappearance begins to show a side of this town not noticeable from just a drive through some of the neighborhoods. Jadon was at once a solution to the problem as well as a reason for it to exist.
I quite enjoy reading police procedural novels because I like to see what is happening as it happens. This investigation moved at such a slow pace that it wrung all my enjoyment right out of the book. Basic investigation was put off for what seemed to me only as an excuse for plodding along with a novel which essentially had a paper thin premise to begin with. Not a success for me, but it did give me the chance to try out another novel series from an author I have liked in the past.
Closer to a 2.5 rating on the Goodreads scale. It was only okay.
I have read several other novels by Priscilla Masters, specifically in the Martha Gunn series. Those books were so enjoyable for me that I wanted to try a book in a different series. This one just wasn't the same style of novel and I found myself rather ambivalent about the story and the characters. The pacing of the novel was simply too slow for me and the investigative methods didn't appear to be properly efficient.
Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy of Leek Police receives a frantic phone call from a woman whose husband was supposed to have been home three hours earlier. Considering all the explanations for why the husband might not have gotten home yet, DI Piercy tries to calm the wife and convince her to wait a reasonable amount of time before considering her husband to be missing. As the days pass and Jadon Glover doesn't return home the investigation into his disappearance begins to show a side of this town not noticeable from just a drive through some of the neighborhoods. Jadon was at once a solution to the problem as well as a reason for it to exist.
I quite enjoy reading police procedural novels because I like to see what is happening as it happens. This investigation moved at such a slow pace that it wrung all my enjoyment right out of the book. Basic investigation was put off for what seemed to me only as an excuse for plodding along with a novel which essentially had a paper thin premise to begin with. Not a success for me, but it did give me the chance to try out another novel series from an author I have liked in the past.
February 6, 2017
Jadon Glover, the perfect Husband, did not return home one night. His wife Eve, calls the police, but too often errant Husbands have run off or had one drink too many, so, the Police are not very concerned. He is a financial Manager with Johnston and Pickles the Officers are told... but when they start digging- he doesn’t work there! Nothing is known of his background or Parents. In short, he is as beige as the background in his perfect life. But then things start to unravel.
The Detective in charge of the case is a second wife. D.I. Joanna Piercy and her Husband have no children together and his job is as stressful as hers. They are struggling with the need to move...she to accept his Parents. The death of a child in her Husbands job is heartrending to him and at one point he says, “he wishes he had something to come home to cuddle and love.” The bulk of our story though is the police work, fitted into a detailed investigation, which leads to a gritty, forensic find.
Priscilla Masters builds the mystery slowly. The layers are interwoven in her chapters... question by question and with a variety of clues. The comprehensive descriptions threaded within the plot reveal a vendetta against the main character that she ties up successfully. I sat reading until very late at night and I suspect you will too.
The Detective in charge of the case is a second wife. D.I. Joanna Piercy and her Husband have no children together and his job is as stressful as hers. They are struggling with the need to move...she to accept his Parents. The death of a child in her Husbands job is heartrending to him and at one point he says, “he wishes he had something to come home to cuddle and love.” The bulk of our story though is the police work, fitted into a detailed investigation, which leads to a gritty, forensic find.
Priscilla Masters builds the mystery slowly. The layers are interwoven in her chapters... question by question and with a variety of clues. The comprehensive descriptions threaded within the plot reveal a vendetta against the main character that she ties up successfully. I sat reading until very late at night and I suspect you will too.
January 28, 2017
Jadon Glover didn't come home to his wife at the time he usually did.
His wife reports him missing and what begins as a routine missing person investigation, turns out to be something much more sinister.
This is the first Priscilla Masters novel I have read, will look out for more.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Severn House via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
His wife reports him missing and what begins as a routine missing person investigation, turns out to be something much more sinister.
This is the first Priscilla Masters novel I have read, will look out for more.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Severn House via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
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