View source for Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner

{{infobox1
|title=Persons Unknown
|author=Susie Steiner
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The second DI Manon Bradshaw police procedural reads perfectly well as a standalone and whilst I didn't find it unputdownable it was a reasonably engaging read.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=384
|publisher=The Borough Press
|date=April 2018
|isbn=978-0008123376
|website=http://www.susiesteiner.co.uk/
|cover=000812337
|aznuk=0008123373
|aznus=0008123373
}}

A well-dressed man bled to death just yards from a Cambridgeshire police headquarters.  DI Manon Bradshaw would normally be involved but she's side-lined on cold cases - and then she finds that there's a solid reason why she can't be involved: Jon-Oliver Ross was the father of her sister's son and he was probably in town to see young Solly.  And if that wasn't close enough, her adopted son, Fly, was caught on CCTV passing the man just as he was about to collapse.  Detective Superintendent Stanton is certain that Fly's good for the murder and won't tolerate any other avenues of investigation.

Twelve-year-old Fly hadn't been happy since Manon, her sister Ellie, her son Solly and Fly left London for Huntingdon where Manon felt that black kids were not going to be stopped and searched on a regular basis.  He's been bullied at school and he's missing Cricklewood but there's a further complication: Manon's pregnant.  Whilst Manon believes that he's a good kid and that he wouldn't stab someone, the detective in her knows that there's room for doubt.

This is the second DI Manon Bradshaw police procedural and I was tempted to read it despite the fact that I hadn't read [[Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner|the first book]].  I didn't feel that this was a disadvantage as I got into the story fairly quickly and worked out who was who.  There are some interesting characters, although they lack a little subtlety and the case develops well into some interesting areas such as money laundering and prostitution.

The story is reasonably well written although I found the emphasis on Manon Bradshaw a little annoying and some of it unnecessary.  I put her tears down to pregnancy hormones - if she hadn't been pregnant I suspect that I would have found her particularly annoying, which perhaps contributed to the fact that I didn't find the book unputdownable.  I had someone pencilled in for the murder but was proved wrong, although I have to say that although the solution was ''possible'' I didn't find it entirely convincing.  Would I read the next book in the series?  Possibly.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy [[Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham]].

[[Susie Steiner's DI Manon Bradshaw Novels in Chronological Order]]

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