A teenage girl is missing. Her godfather is a known criminal and her mother is hiding a dark secret. For Private Investigator J. McNee, what starts as a favor for a friend soon becomes a nightmare as he races to find the girl before it’s too late.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Thomas Magnum would never have made it in the real world.",
By
This review is from: The Lost Sister (Hardcover)
Recovered physically but not emotionally from an accident which cost the life of his fiancée, followed by a downward spiral which led to his breaking of a superior officer's nose, J McNee has wisely left the CID and has been working as a private investigator in his home town of Dundee, Scotland. Morose and cynical, he suffers from agonizing psychosomatic injuries which sometimes nearly paralyze him as a result of the violence of his past life. When he is asked to investigate a missing person by reporter Cameron Connolly, McNee takes the job, "off the books," working in parallel with the Dundee CID. The missing person is Mary Furst, a fourteen-year-old girl, who is also the god-daughter of David Burns, a thug who is "knuckle deep in drug money, extortion, rackets, underground deals, and blackmail." Detective Constable Ernie Bright, a man who had trained McNee at CID and who still hopes he will return to the force, is his contact there, though he will work most closely with Susan Bright, Ernie's daughter.
As he investigates the circumstances surrounding Mary's disappearance, McNee concentrates first on her home life, then her room, and finally her computer. He soon discovers the name of her boyfriend and an unusually large number of e-mails to and from Deborah Brown, her art teacher. Hints about a strange relationship between these two are rampant at their school. Eventually, McNee becomes embroiled in every aspect of Mary's family life, the relationship of her parents, her early childhood, her closeness to her crime lord/godfather, and her mother's emotional problems. An investigation of Deborah Brown also reveals that she, too, suffers from severe emotional issues. When McNee repeatedly fails to obey his better judgment that certain aspects of the case would be better investigated by the police, he sets up the circumstances that lead to a dark and bloody conclusion. Written in a straightforward, almost hard-boiled style, McNee tells his own story in a first person narrative which is much more psychological in approach than most other noir novels. McNee has to deal with his own problems and then apply his insights to the problems of other characters in the novel. As one of his colleagues tells him, "You're a man with a conscience and a code and all that other bollocks, but you're also a man who drags his own disaster around with him like a wrecking ball." Coincidence plays a role here in the developing action, while the backgrounds of all the characters unfold through interviews, which are efficient in giving a great deal of pertinent information, though they create numerous situations in which the author/narrator is "telling about" things that have happened instead of revealing information through the action. Some information about Dundee itself provides a bit of local color and atmosphere, though the story does not depend on it for interest. The action that does occur, though violent and unexpected, is consistent with the black-and-white issues that underlie the plot, and though the use of psychological angles provides some depth, the novel itself is straightforward and uncomplicated--clever and compressed, rather than elegant or subtle. The grand finale, which is easy to imagine as an action film, takes place at an atmosphere-filled location in the Scottish countryside, and should satisfy all readers of noir fiction. Mary Whipple
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
super thriller,
This review is from: The Lost Sister (Hardcover)
In Dundee, Scotland, fourteen year old Mary Furst vanishes. The family believes time is short as Mary is a great student and promising artist who would never have just run away. Not expecting the overworked police to rescue the teen alive, former Dundee cop turned private investigator J. McNee is hired to find and save the child. He agrees with the assessment that the child was snatched takes on the case; he barely conceals his ire and if he can get his hands on the culprit with no cops around the predator will regret abducting a kid.
McNee is not hampered by the restrictions placed on the cops as he follows leads. He wonders if Mary's criminal Godfather is the cause as an enemy could be behind the abduction. He finds that the child's mom is uncooperative so he bullies her trying to get her to tell him what she fearfully but obviously hides. Ignoring legal boundaries while working closely with Constable Susan Bright, McNee fears time has run out on Mary who he thinks is probably dead. The second McNee raging out of control investigation is a super thriller as the hero's anger management issues remain a critical part of him, but provides insight into the causes of his emotional problems; something the exciting The Good Son lacked. Ironically the story line is fast-paced from the moment McNee does the favor, but in the protagonist's mind his pace is too slow. Readers will appreciate the traumatized hero who is apt to lead with his fists and ask questions later. Harriet Klausner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast Paced,
By
This review is from: The Lost Sister (Hardcover)
Welcome to Dundee, Scotland, where past actions affect the lives of today. Where a teenage girl goes missing and a private investigator is reluctantly drawn into the case. Where lies and secrets abound and personalities clash. This the second book by McLean, who has written numerous shorts stories for magazines in both America and Great Britain.
Private investigator J. McNee deals with each case on a personal level, maybe too much. He is dealing with an incident the previous year where he was manipulated into exposing his dark side and killing another man. Mary Furst, a teenager, is missing and McNee can't help but be more than a police observer and advisor. Suspects include a crime lord McNee hates, an ex boyfriend, and Mary's art teacher, Deborah. Enter Wickes, who claims to be an investigator from Glasgow. He tells McNee a story concerning Deborah, their relationship, and the fact Mary is actually Deborah's mother, given up through a surrogacy arrangement. However, McNee soon discovers Wickes has a violent side and may not be telling the truth. That truth, however, is complex and McNee finds himself struggling with finding Mary while battling internal demons threatening to rise again. This is a fast-paced story spanning all of three days. It is character driven with nearly every character having troubled pasts. McNee has relationship problems with many of his `friends.' If McLean plans for future McNee books, he has a lot of room for more character development. Keep an eye for more good stuff from this acclaimed author. Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, author of "Beta" for Suspense Magazine
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