While I’m coming in at Book 6 in the series, I want to start by saying that first, I think this book worked as a stand alone (even though it’s technically not,) and second, I think I found a new series… now I have to track down books 1-5!
The book opens in France when a young boy walks into a police station and tells the detectives he is Carl Meagan — a missing child from Sheffield — whose story is apparently told in earlier stories, but it’s easy to figure out what happened without the first five books.
Meanwhile, back in Sheffield, DCI Matilda Darke is put on the Kelley Armitage case — she’s a 9-year-old girl who has also just gone missing. Her family is desperate to find her, and Darke is having flashbacks to the Carl Meagan case and hoping she isn’t going to mess this one up too.
This was a really good British police suspense/thriller. There are a few side stories going on with different relationships, updates to cases from earlier books, and the Carl Meagan kidnapped boy story. I probably would have been more invested in that part of it if I had the background of the earlier stories, but, again, they also didn’t feel out of place without that background, and I was rooting for Darke even without knowing everything that’s happened in the past.
Once you’ve read enough of these, though, it’s easier to see what’s actually going to happen, and I figured it out really early on. But I liked Darke’s character enough to keep reading and was definitely sucked in. I finished this one really fast. The ending I predicted was disturbing enough that I hoped I was wrong, but unfortunately, I wasn’t, but it was even worth reading to find out.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.