What do you think?
Rate this book
PI Grace Smith #2
JFK is Missing!
Liz Evans is in top form in these, the first three investigations in the PI Grace Smith mystery series. Featuring a feisty and engaging heroine, and packed with cracking one-liners and unexpected twists, these pacey novels will keep you guessing to the end.PI Grace Smith is back, walking the mean streets of Seatoun, a seedy town on England's southern coast. Client Henry Summerstone has asked her to find a missing person, but he has no idea of her name, where she lives or works, or what she looks like -- he's been blind for years. In fact, he's not even sure she's missing. But he's offering cash, an offer that Grace finds hard to refuse. Soon she's got a lead on the girl -- several girls, as it turns out -- but instead of them leading her to Miss X, Grace finds herself caught up in government fraud, family feuds, and cold-blooded murder.
345 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 1998
43 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 20, 2021
JFK Is Missing! is the 2nd PI Grace Smith mystery by English mystery writer Liz Evans. This was every bit as good as the first mystery, Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?.
Grace Smith is an ex-police woman who left the police force under a cloud of suspicion that she took bribes. She is now a competent, somewhat lazy and struggling PI working in a detective agency on England's south coast, in the town of Seatoun. Grace gets two cases on the same day; blind Henry Summerstone wants her to find a woman he had become friends with and seemed to be missing, and teenage girl Bones, daughter of rich parents, wants her to find an older man, because Bones wants to bring him on a date.
During her investigation as she wanders the waterfront trying to get info on missing Kristen, Grace runs into roller skater Figgy and his pregnant girl friend, Mickey. They have been living rough in a beach hut, but shortly will sneak into the apartment of Grace's fellow PI, Annie Smith (no relation) while Annie is away, causing all sorts of tribulation.
The investigation is always interesting and also very convoluted. Grace is a fascinating character, finding herself in predicaments, taking on guises to gather information. She's not always successful but she's so enjoyable to follow around; she's irascible , humorous and even tough. She's a bit of a loner but seems to have lots of friends. I enjoy all of the characters that show up in this story, no matter how small a role. I especially like Annie who is really her best friend, a skilled PI in her own right. I love the names Annie's parents give their kids; Zebedee, her brother, Tally one of her twins (Tallahassee) and the other twin, Tennessee.
There is so much to enjoy about the story, how it move along, how confusing it gets, how it ultimately ties together. There are lovely characters, humor, tension, great writing, etc. Just a wonderful enjoyable mystery; kind of a combination of Sue Grafton's world weary Kinsey Milhone and Janet Evanovich's klutzy Stephanie Plum. I won't wait so long to read #3, but there are currently only 6 books in this excellent series, so I don't want to rush things. (4 stars)
Grace Smith is an ex-police woman who left the police force under a cloud of suspicion that she took bribes. She is now a competent, somewhat lazy and struggling PI working in a detective agency on England's south coast, in the town of Seatoun. Grace gets two cases on the same day; blind Henry Summerstone wants her to find a woman he had become friends with and seemed to be missing, and teenage girl Bones, daughter of rich parents, wants her to find an older man, because Bones wants to bring him on a date.
During her investigation as she wanders the waterfront trying to get info on missing Kristen, Grace runs into roller skater Figgy and his pregnant girl friend, Mickey. They have been living rough in a beach hut, but shortly will sneak into the apartment of Grace's fellow PI, Annie Smith (no relation) while Annie is away, causing all sorts of tribulation.
The investigation is always interesting and also very convoluted. Grace is a fascinating character, finding herself in predicaments, taking on guises to gather information. She's not always successful but she's so enjoyable to follow around; she's irascible , humorous and even tough. She's a bit of a loner but seems to have lots of friends. I enjoy all of the characters that show up in this story, no matter how small a role. I especially like Annie who is really her best friend, a skilled PI in her own right. I love the names Annie's parents give their kids; Zebedee, her brother, Tally one of her twins (Tallahassee) and the other twin, Tennessee.
There is so much to enjoy about the story, how it move along, how confusing it gets, how it ultimately ties together. There are lovely characters, humor, tension, great writing, etc. Just a wonderful enjoyable mystery; kind of a combination of Sue Grafton's world weary Kinsey Milhone and Janet Evanovich's klutzy Stephanie Plum. I won't wait so long to read #3, but there are currently only 6 books in this excellent series, so I don't want to rush things. (4 stars)
December 27, 2023
It seemed for a while in the 1980s and 1990s that the biggest growth area in fiction was the sub-genre featuring female private detectives. This boom was seen on both sides of the Atlantic, with a crop of excellent female sleuths appearing. Prominent among the American ranks were Sara Paretsky’s redoubtable V I Warshawski, Linda Barnes’s Carlotta Carlyle (who subsidised her investigation work by driving a cab around Boston), and Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, who featured in the ‘Alphabet’ series. Back in Blighty we had, among many others, Liza Cody’s Anna Lee (brought to life on television by Imogen Stubbs), Joan Smith’s fiery academic, Loretta Lawson, and Michelle Spring’s wonderful Laura Principal (another some time academic).
Liz Evans had already published a few non-crime novels under other names, but chose to enter into this busy sector with Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?, which introduced ex-copper Grace Smith, who worked in the fictional coastal Kent resort of Seatoun. This book marked her second outing, and was very enjoyable.
There are certain aspects of life as a fictional private investigator that seem hard for any writer to shake off. The sleuth has to be jaundiced in their outlook on life (feasible, really given that they constantly mine the seedier aspects of society), live dangerously near the edge of financial survival, and thrive on wise cracking ripostes to any challenge. As far as that goes, Liz Evans leaves no cliché knowingly overlooked, but the book is none the worse for that. Grace Smith is capable and effortlessly empathetic, and her one-liner remarks are funnier than most.
I don’t want to embark on a synopsis of the plot as it is quite intricate, and I don’t want to risk inadvertent spoilers. I did, however, find it an appealing addition to a well-populated genre, and I will be looking for further books in the series.
Liz Evans had already published a few non-crime novels under other names, but chose to enter into this busy sector with Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?, which introduced ex-copper Grace Smith, who worked in the fictional coastal Kent resort of Seatoun. This book marked her second outing, and was very enjoyable.
There are certain aspects of life as a fictional private investigator that seem hard for any writer to shake off. The sleuth has to be jaundiced in their outlook on life (feasible, really given that they constantly mine the seedier aspects of society), live dangerously near the edge of financial survival, and thrive on wise cracking ripostes to any challenge. As far as that goes, Liz Evans leaves no cliché knowingly overlooked, but the book is none the worse for that. Grace Smith is capable and effortlessly empathetic, and her one-liner remarks are funnier than most.
I don’t want to embark on a synopsis of the plot as it is quite intricate, and I don’t want to risk inadvertent spoilers. I did, however, find it an appealing addition to a well-populated genre, and I will be looking for further books in the series.
January 24, 2018
Grace Smith is an ex-policewoman and now a PI in a British seaside town.
Her success rate is a bit debatable. She usually gets to the root of her tasks but on a quite circuitous route and often risking, if not always life, certainly limb.
Here she undertakes a fairly harmless sounding missing persons case for an elderly blind widower. Along the way, she picks up assorted odd acquaintances and another missing person case from a spoilt little rich schoolgirl. So far so straightforward. But one of the missing people turns out be not quite as ‘innocent’ as first expected, in fact no-one turns out as expected, except possible the spoilt rich kid.
Grace is a bit shambolic in her life and her dress. She eats like a horse but never has anything in the fridge. She doesn’t seem particularly fit but can hold her own when up against it. She doesn’t ask the questions she should and gets into real scrapes. However, by good fortune, or bad, she reaches a conclusion and joins the dot, along the way, finding a home for a homeless couple, befriending a lonely widow and possibly finding that elusive soulmate.
Her success rate is a bit debatable. She usually gets to the root of her tasks but on a quite circuitous route and often risking, if not always life, certainly limb.
Here she undertakes a fairly harmless sounding missing persons case for an elderly blind widower. Along the way, she picks up assorted odd acquaintances and another missing person case from a spoilt little rich schoolgirl. So far so straightforward. But one of the missing people turns out be not quite as ‘innocent’ as first expected, in fact no-one turns out as expected, except possible the spoilt rich kid.
Grace is a bit shambolic in her life and her dress. She eats like a horse but never has anything in the fridge. She doesn’t seem particularly fit but can hold her own when up against it. She doesn’t ask the questions she should and gets into real scrapes. However, by good fortune, or bad, she reaches a conclusion and joins the dot, along the way, finding a home for a homeless couple, befriending a lonely widow and possibly finding that elusive soulmate.
August 17, 2019
Apparently this is the last of the Grace Smith mysteries, and perhaps it's a stretch but I do find a tinge of sadness throughout. An elderly blind man hires Grace to find out what happened to a young woman he knew only as "K," whom he befriended during his beach walks. But he knows little about her, except that he didn't expect her to vanish. At the same time, Grace gets another client, a spoiled, wealthy schoolgirl who wants Grace to find the totally unsuitable man who promised to take her to a party before he disappeared. Slowly, Grace finds connections between her two cases, and also finds herself almost dead because a murderer thinks she's found out much more than she actually has. Another winner from Evans.
January 5, 2018
Private Criminal
I love novels with female PIs, but this novel is just too careless in its attitude towards crime for my taste (and, I'd think, for the genre - it is, after all, based on a sense of justice and law). The PI, in the course of looking for two missing persons, breaks into offices, tolerates squatters (in her best friend's apartment), and so on. Plus, the plot has really unlikely twists, like the coincidence of her being asked by two separate people to look for missing people (whose fates, it turns out, are interrelated). None of the protagonists is really likable, so when the PI runs into major difficulties, I could not have cared less
I love novels with female PIs, but this novel is just too careless in its attitude towards crime for my taste (and, I'd think, for the genre - it is, after all, based on a sense of justice and law). The PI, in the course of looking for two missing persons, breaks into offices, tolerates squatters (in her best friend's apartment), and so on. Plus, the plot has really unlikely twists, like the coincidence of her being asked by two separate people to look for missing people (whose fates, it turns out, are interrelated). None of the protagonists is really likable, so when the PI runs into major difficulties, I could not have cared less
March 13, 2021
Brighton based private detective Grace Smith is on, what appears to be, two minor missing persons cases. Former businessman Henry Summerstone is look for a girl known only as K who disappeared with a Little Dorrit audio book set while poor little rich girl 14-year-old Bone is looking for an older man Tom Skerries who is supposed to take her to party. Needless to say things are quite what they appear to be an when the cases become linked, Grace find herself is peril from some dangerous people. "Blindsided" takes a while to get going but the gripping finale is well worth it. A good book that attempts to keep it's subject real.
May 1, 2020
Grace Smith is Britain's answer to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. Except stupid and not as snarky. in this romp, she takes on two missing person cases that have an unlikely connection. There really is no suspense or mystery here. She just sort of stumbles from clue to clue. There are some amusing moments but overall the story is silly and unbelievable. Entertaining read though.
December 16, 2024
A fun read
Grace Smith, a hapless private investigator, finds herself caught in two investigations . Stumbling from one clue to another, the plot twists and turns. Entertaining mystery.
Grace Smith, a hapless private investigator, finds herself caught in two investigations . Stumbling from one clue to another, the plot twists and turns. Entertaining mystery.
Read
March 5, 2018I'm not sure if I have read this, it sounds familiar but I can't remember it.
Bought Kindle August 2014
Bought Kindle August 2014
May 4, 2020
I love it when all these tiny ingredients of the book come together at the end, leaving me slightly dumbfounded.
May 18, 2023
Standard hapless girl-detective story. Mildly amusing if you don't want to think too hard.
March 17, 2020
Imagine if Kinsey Millhone were British and sort of inept, then you would have Grace Smith, a former police officer who was dismissed from the force in disgrace and now ekes out a living as a private detective. She’s not very good, but she’s amusing. She has a talent for coming up with the wrong answer, sometimes suffering bodily harm because of it. This second novel in the series has her looking for a missing young woman on behalf of a blind man, also looking for a missing young man on behalf of his wife and children—and for a rich, spoiled 14 year old who wants him to take her to the prom. She find out what happens although she doesn’t find anyone and ends up hospitalized due to the machinations of an unexpected murderer. It’s amusing.
August 6, 2013
This is the second book about Grace Smith, inept private investigator. This time, she is asked to find a missing girl - but her client doesn't know what she looks like, her name or even if she's really missing. And then she is asked to find the missing boyfriend of a rich, spoilt brat...but if both are going to pay, then Grace is going to investigate. And if that wasn't enough, there are squatters in her best friend's house.
This was amusing and clever, the two cases brilliantly written and I was left guessing right to the very end. I honestly can't beleive that anyone would really be like Grace, but as a fictional character she is great.
This was amusing and clever, the two cases brilliantly written and I was left guessing right to the very end. I honestly can't beleive that anyone would really be like Grace, but as a fictional character she is great.
May 9, 2015
Much better than expected. The plot was actually quite clever and convoluted. Maybe the device of putting the protagonist in mortal danger after unwittingly confronting the murderer alone is a bit overused, but then again the same old plot device worked for Stieg Larsson in The Girl wit the Dragon Tattoo, and the situation was handled with suitable macabre humour.
I appreciated the lack of romance(*). But the final scenes had a bit of a sad-puppy-kicking vibe.
(*) OK, I was expecting something along the lines of the Stephanie Plum books, which I happen to dislike, but this was so much better. The humour is there, but Grace is not a complete idiot.
I appreciated the lack of romance(*). But the final scenes had a bit of a sad-puppy-kicking vibe.
(*) OK, I was expecting something along the lines of the Stephanie Plum books, which I happen to dislike, but this was so much better. The humour is there, but Grace is not a complete idiot.
February 20, 2016
Grace Smith, is a private investigator with police background. She is hired to find a missing person of whom hardly anything is known, except a first name and her regular workouts at the beach. Of course, what looks like a difficult but straightforward task at first, quickly turns into a tangled web that needs a lot of skill and even more luck to untangle.
The books is a rather pleasant read, entertaining, but not very brilliant or demanding to the reader. The mystery itself is nicely tangled and the resolution a good surprise, and there are very few parts that are predictable. For my taste the story relies a little too much on coincidences, though.
The books is a rather pleasant read, entertaining, but not very brilliant or demanding to the reader. The mystery itself is nicely tangled and the resolution a good surprise, and there are very few parts that are predictable. For my taste the story relies a little too much on coincidences, though.
August 25, 2016
Well now. That was really fun! Witty and twisted (in a good way) Grace Smith is a lousy detective. But somehow--often by default--she lands pretty interesting cases anyway. I fully enjoyed this one and didn't guess the culprit until the reveal. And what an action-packed revelation it turned out to be! Liz Evans has a quick grasp of the English language that turns cliche's on their proverbial ears. With such fresh plots and intriguing situations, I'll be heading to Seatoun on the British coast again soon to catch up on Grace's next antics.
October 17, 2016
I didn't want to finish this book, as it's the last one in the series (okay, I didn't actually read them in order, but I've read all the other Grace Smith PI books and this was the last one!). Once again this was a story that kept me guessing, made me smile, with a real-life heroine with flaws, a host of characters of different personalities and temperaments, and surprises that are slowly revealed as the mystery unfolds.
My only regret is that there are no more books written about Grace Smith. If you haven't tried them, give them a go!
My only regret is that there are no more books written about Grace Smith. If you haven't tried them, give them a go!
February 6, 2017
Confusing mishmash
Confusing story about finding 2 different people that goes on interminably. Red herrings are dropped and more and more characters are introduced and mentioned again. I found the whole thing pointless and boring.
Confusing story about finding 2 different people that goes on interminably. Red herrings are dropped and more and more characters are introduced and mentioned again. I found the whole thing pointless and boring.
August 23, 2016
I started this book on and off. I had a hard time getting into it. As it went along it got more interesting. There were some twists in the plot. The end where the killer is planning on how to kill her went on to long so I skipped some pages. I don't know if I will read more in this series. Probably not.
Read
December 7, 2010I think this second installment of the Grace Smith series is the weakest of the four written so far. It's still miles better than many of the humourous mystery books it gets compared to though.
May 16, 2009
I liked this one better than the first one. It got moving a little more quickly. I would have liked to have seen more of the characters from the first one again, but it was an enjoyable read.
July 5, 2012
Another in the series of PI Grace Smith. As with the other two I've read, I enjoyed it. Evan's writing is funny and quick.
July 25, 2014
OK mystery set in Hastings.
September 11, 2014
2014 Kindle edition retitled Blindsided
October 20, 2016
Not a bad read at all not something I would ordinarily pick up to read first but an ok read and would recommend.
August 9, 2014
Love, love, love this series! I wish the author would write some additional installments.
August 25, 2014
Really enjoyed! A British version of Janet evanovic
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews