Why a Booktrail?
2000s: How can a child just go missing without a trace?
Close to Home
What you need to know before your trail
Last night, eight-year-old Daisy Mason disappeared from a family party. No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything – or at least that’s what they’re saying.
DI Adam Fawley is trying to keep an open mind. But he knows the nine times out of ten, it’s someone the victim knew.
That means someone is lying…
And that Daisy’s time is running out.
Travel Guide
Oxford
Cara Hunter lives in Oxford, in a street not unlike those featured in her series of crime books. The streets are mainly fictional for obvious reasons but the Banbury Road where the operations centre is, is real, as is the Woodstock road out of the city to the outlying suburbs. There is everywhere to look when there is a missing child at stake.
It all starts at a common enough looking house where people come and go in to the garden as preparations are being made for the party later that day. It’s close to a canal so there are many places to worry about and search.
The author says that people who are familiar with Oxford will know or recognise the places mentioned or referred to. When there’s a missing child at stake however, any city becomes a maze you can’t escape. The Banbury Road out to Summertown, the Woodstock Road, and the High street all feature. The house where the child goes missing is in a fictional street close to one of the many canals and rivers in the city.
“I’m lucky enough to live in the city I write about. Oxford will be familiar to crime fans across the whole world because of the fabulous Morse novels and TV, but my version of the town is a long way from the beautiful ivy-clad colleges. A much edgier place where the crimes are darker and closer to home.”
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
This was a cracker! Set in Oxford with the maze of the city’s streets very apparent – even more so in this case of a missing child, the case starts as one missing child case and then turns into quite something else. The author is very good at making you think one thing, taking you down one path before saying – nope – not that way. This was really entertaining for that reason and makes you feel part of the investigation. With some very infamous cases of missing children still fresh on the news – one in particular is mentioned – then you have an opinion of each of these whilst reading this book. But it’s all of these and something else altogether.
It’s a very assured book for a debut. I thought it might be an author I’d missed for some reason. But no – this Oxford set mystery is the first of a series. I am definitely coming back to this city of spirals for another spiralling mystery . Can I also just add that Cara Hunter has one of the best author names ever for a crime fiction author!
The ending is slap your leg fantastic!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Close to Home
Destination: Oxford Author/Guide: Cara Hunter Departure Time: 2000s
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
