THE MISSING ONES
Hester Thursby #2
Nominated for the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award as part of the 2020 Edgars!
Nominated for the 2019 Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel!
Edwin Hill, author of the acclaimed Little Comfort, returns with his next book featuring Harvard librarian Hester Thursby—an intimate, intricate mystery as smart and complex as it is riveting.
Hester Thursby has given up using her research skills to trace people who don’t want to be found. A traumatic case a few months ago unearthed a string of violent crimes, and left Hester riddled with
self-doubt and guilt. Caring for a four-year-old is responsibility enough in a world filled with terrors Hester never could have imagined before.
“If you like Louise Penny’s blend of a cozy setting with complex crimes, Hill’s your man.”
Finisterre Island, off the coast of Maine, is ruggedly beautiful and remote—the kind of place tourists love to visit, though rarely for long. But not everyone who comes to the island is welcome. A dilapidated Victorian house has become home to a group of squatters and junkies, and strangers have a habit of bringing trouble with them. A young boy disappeared during the summer, and though he was found safely, the incident stirred suspicion among locals. Now another child is missing. Summoned to the island by a cryptic text, Hester discovers a community cleaning up from a devastating storm—and uncovers a murder.
Soon Hester begins to connect the crime and the missing children. And as she untangles the secrets at the center of the small community, she finds grudges and loyalties that run deep, poised to converge with a force that will once again shake her convictions about the very nature of right and wrong . . .
Reviews of THE MISSING ONES
“A wonderfully complex and intricate mystery [with] plenty to engage readers looking for a new amateur detective to follow.”
- STARRED REVIEW, Library Journal
***
“A page-turner!”
- Hot Summer Reads!, Us Magazine
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“If you like Louise Penny’s blend of a cozy setting with complex crimes, Hill’s your man.”
***
“Hill's affinity for creating realistic characters with complicated personalities and suspenseful plots shines in The Missing Ones.”
- Oline H. Cogdill, Associated Press
***
“The Missing Ones is a resounding triumph that reaffirms Edwin Hill’s emergence as a fierce new voice in crime fiction. While the mysteries of the missing and murdered are skillfully rendered and satisfyingly (if sometimes heartbreakingly) resolved, it’s the characters themselves and their myriad dreams and disillusionments that demand our attention. This book, then, is a salient reminder that we are all broken in some way and that we are all trying to put ourselves—and each other—back together again.”
- John Valeri, Criminal Element
***
“Complex…Dark, sometimes downright creepy, with a profusion of deeply conflicted characters. Hard-core fans of the genre will appreciate the twist at the ending.”
- Booklist
***
“Hill demonstrates the same humor, malice, and zinging dialogue that made his debut novel one to savor, and he commands our attention as a rising star in the mystery genre.”
***
“This is an author who refuses to let his novels play out in expected ways.”
***
“Hill is adept at building compassion for his characters in a tight-knit social web while implicating them in dark thoughts and actions. He remains a writer to watch.”
***
“In The Missing Ones, as in Little Comfort, Edwin Hill creates an increasingly tense plot filled with interconnected mysteries and suspenseful occurrences where characters the reader cares about are in real danger. But what draws the reader in and ratchets up the tension further is Hill's exploration of human psychology as he puts characters in situations that push them to their breaking points and then reveals the aftermath.”
***
“A complex mystery with well-defined characters, a detailed plot, and suspense that tightens like a vise…”
***
“A conflicted protagonist battles formidable opponents in a bid for a normal life.”
***
“Darkly textured and gorgeously twisted, this atmospheric novel of suspense proves Edwin Hill is a major talent. A master class in setting and character, and with penetrating psychological insight, this story is seamless and surprising and devastating—as turbulent and unpredictable as a New England nor’easter.”
- HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN, best-selling and award-winning author of The Murder List
***
“A brilliantly composed mystery…a hurricane of suspense with squalls of twists that’ll just take your breath away. A salty, stormy and seductive read.”
- MARIO GIORDANO, author of Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions and Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna
***
“Hester Thursby is one of those characters you wish you’d thought up and got to write on a regular basis.”
- DANIEL FORD, author of Black Coffee and Sid Sanford Lives!
Formats
Hardcover, mass-market paperback, audio, large print, and e-Book.
Where to buy
Available wherever books are sold. Here are some of my local favorites:
Harvard Book Store in Cambridge
Porter Square Books in Cambridge (featured in Little Comfort!)
Also available online