What Falls Between the Cracks

by Robert Scragg Narrated by David Thorpe

Overview

When a severed hand is found in an abandoned flat, Detective Jake Porter and his partner Nick Styles are able to DNA match the limb to the owner, Natasha Barclay, who has not been seen in decades. But why has no one been looking for her? It seems that Natasha's family are the people who can least be trusted. Delving into the details behind her disappearance and discovering links to another investigation, a tragic family history begins to take on a darker twist. Hampered by a widespread fear of a local heavy, as well as internal politics and possible corruption within the force, Porter and Styles are digging for answers, but will what they find ever see the light of day?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

04/30/2018
The discovery of a hand inside a defrosted freezer in an abandoned London flat drives British author Scragg’s satisfying debut and series launch. A DNA match links the severed hand to Natasha Barclay, who lived in the flat decades earlier. When Det. Insp. Jake Porter and his partner, Det. Sgt. Nick Styles, investigate, they learn that Natasha’s father, Nathan, killed himself in 1983—around the time that he sold his haulage firm to Alexander Locke, the head of an import-export company, and Natasha disappeared. The police drug force currently has Locke, who’s now married to Nathan’s ex-wife and Natasha’s stepmother, and his security chief, James Bolton, under surveillance. Porter and Styles combine their efforts with the drug unit after one of their officers is killed and another grievously wounded in a raid. Meanwhile, a possible mole in the police department complicates their joint task. Scragg’s detectives have the right combination of passion and savvy, and his plot is easy to follow while still saving some surprises for the end. Fans of British police procedurals will eagerly await the sequel. (June)

Booklist

"In an interview on theCrime Timewebsite, debut author Scragg defines what, for him, is the perfect crime: “Either nobody even knows one has been committed and it stays undiscovered, or it’s covered up so well that it’s impossible to unravel what happened and who is responsible.” So, putting those ideas into action, Scragg gives us Natasha Barclay, whose severed hand is found in an empty apartment. After using DNA to match the hand to a person, London detective Jake Porter and his partner, Nick Styles, are blown away by the fact that Natasha has apparently been missing for 30 years, and, sadly, no one has been looking for her. Deepening the mystery is Natasha’s uncooperative and well-connected family; as the story unravels, those connections become more and more sinister. This is a classic police procedural, with a host of engaging characters. Porter is a daring and determined investigator, sensitized and left somewhat damaged by his own wife’s unsolved murder. Recommend this fine mystery to all procedural fans, especially followers of Peter James’ Roy Grace and Alison Bruce’s Gary Goodhew."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170421114
Publisher:	Isis Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	01/01/2019
Series:	Porter and Styles
Edition description:	Unabridged

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