3 Stars
This is the second of the Finder Mysteries which focuses on Talib, a specialist in finding people. Having enjoyed the first book in the series, Missing Person: Alice, I decided to listen to the second one.
In 2008, Don Bayliss, a well-respected accountant, vanished in Bournemouth. His clothes discarded by the harbour led police to presume death by suicide. Fifteen years later, the discovery of a possible connection to a convicted criminal results in the case being re-opened. The Finder is hired to determine exactly what happened to the quiet accountant.
Talib re-interviews everyone associated with Don at the time of his disappearance: his wife, colleagues, neighbours, acquaintances, etc. His slow and methodical approach results in uncovering clues that were missed in the initial investigation. As expected in the investigation of a cold case, this is not an action-packed book.
As in the first novel, literature is used to suggest parallels to the case. Talib is reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde and with its theme of dualities, it is soon obvious that part of solving the mystery of Don’s disappearance is determining who the real Don Bayliss was. Was he the hardworking and scrupulously honest colleague or an embezzler? Was he a dull and dutiful husband or a sexual predator?
I liked learning more about Talib’s past which explains his choice of career. He remains the intelligent, thorough, and compassionate man we met in the first book but discovering more events in his past helps the reader to understand him better.
I didn’t enjoy this second book as much because it seems formulaic in that it has so many similarities with the first. In my review of that book, I referred to a character mentioning that people often present contradictory versions of themselves to different people. That is very much a theme in this novel as well, as is the examination of the impact of the missing person on those left behind.
A third book is scheduled for release later this year, but I’m not certain I’ll add it to my audiobook collection. Will it just follow the same formula and repeat the same themes?