Gone Astray

In British author Davies’s promising debut and series launch, Det. Constable Maggie Neville, a family liaison officer, joins the team hunting for 15-year-old Rosie Kinnock, who disappeared from her family’s home in Haxton, an affluent village in Buckinghamshire. Rosie’s parents moved to Haxton from a modest town nearby after winning £15 million in the EuroMillions lottery. Det. Chief Insp. Will Umpire, the officer in charge, assigns Maggie and another FLO to work with the bereft parents. Maggie is supposed to leave the investigating to more experienced detectives, but she’s not good at boundaries. Preferring to make her own decisions, she inevitably finds herself at odds with Umpire, who once had cause to suspend her. Davies paints a moving portrait of the pressures accompanying a sudden windfall and the pressures each of the Kinnocks face. Readers will look forward to seeing more of Maggie, who proves her mettle as she juggles professional duties and personal responsibilities, such as helping to raise her late brother’s son. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Co. (U.K.). (Oct.)