I’m absolutely loving this Missing Children Case Files series, but if you haven’t read the first three, don’t start here; you need to go back to the beginning and start with Ransomed. If you haven’t been following from the beginning, you really won’t have a full handle on true crime author Emma Hunter and the tragedy that has defined her; her sister Anna who has been missing for over twenty years. Everything Emma does, she does with Anna in mind, especially now that some clues to what really happened to Anna are starting to surface. Emma can tell she’s getting closer… and there’s a shocking twist in this book as it’s revealed to the reader (but not Emma) just how close she really is.
The series deals with some difficult and potentially traumatising themes, with abducted children forced into abusive situations and some of them, yes, discarded, as per the title. The discovery of a young girl’s long-buried bones in a suitcase trigger a new avenue of search for Emma and her friends in the police force, and then some photographs are emailed to Emma’s agent which point to conspiracy at a very high level, something which isn’t resolved here but is obviously going to be a focus later on.
I’m not always a huge fan of books which end without resolving all the major mysteries - it can feel like a con to get you to buy the next in the series - but each book in this series focuses on its own major case, tying up that one in the book while unlocking more parts of the overarching mystery of what happened to Anna. It’s cleverly done, and far from annoying me, it has me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment! Five stars for a great read - but make sure you start at the beginning of the series to get the full enjoyment out of it.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.