A QUESTION OF DESPAIR

The clash between an investigator and a reporter hampers a gritty kidnapping case.

Karen Lowe is in full hysterics when police respond to a call that reports her crying and screaming on a Birmingham road. The teenager is barely able to explain to DCI Sarah Quinn that Evie, her 6-month-old daughter, has just been abducted. Karen is convinced that she’ll never see Evie again, but Quinn is certain she can find Evie if only Karen will open up. Not noted for her bedside manner, Quinn can’t even get the father’s name out of Karen. The hard, jaded Quinn soon finds she also can’t rely on her department for reliable backup since it seems clear there’s a press leak to Sarah’s nemesis, determined, underhanded reporter Caroline King. While King will stop at nothing to get the scoop, her tactics may be getting in the way of the formal investigation, inciting even more of Quinn’s ire. The two have a murky past that neither has fully confronted, but their separate investigations may be permanently stalled unless they can somehow collaborate. Something’s got to give, but neither woman wants to be the one to give it, until it becomes clear there may be more lives at stake. This series debut from the chronicler of DS Bev Morriss (Death Line, 2010, etc.) features characters that are tough to relate to but a grim plot that may appeal.