The Missing Hours

The remote borderland between England and Wales provides the atmospheric setting for this intricately plotted crime novel from British author Kavanagh (Falling). Det. Constable Leah Mackay investigates when Selena Cole goes missing from a playground, leaving her children behind. Hours later, Selena reappears with no memory of what happened to her and blood on her sweater. Meanwhile, Det. Sgt. Finn Hale, Leah’s brother, looks into the murder of defense lawyer Dominic Lowell, whose body was found alongside a mountain road. As Lean and Finn pursue their respective cases, the officers begin to wonder if they’re linked. Selena and her late husband, Ed, owned the Cole Group—a company specializing in kidnap prevention, ransom negotiations, and rescues throughout the world—until Ed’s death in a bombing. Dominic may have been closer to members of the Cole Group than anyone has let on. Frustrated by the half-truths and omissions of Selena and those around her, Leah and Finn must examine all the Cole employees and their past missions to find a murderer. Readers will hope these sibling cops return in a sequel. Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.). (Mar.)