Missing - Softcover

Hawken, Sam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846689422 ISBN 13: 9781846689420

Publisher: Serpent's Tail, 2015

Synopsis

Longlisted for the 2015 CWA Gold Dagger Award and CWA Ian Fleming Award

Praise for Sam Hawken:

"Hawken's understated but razor-sharp prose never gets in the way of the building tension. . . . Powerful stuff."—Booklist

Jack Searle is an American widower, bringing up his stepdaughters alone in the border town of Laredo after losing his wife to cancer.

Jack often takes the girls to visit their Mexican family over the border in Nuevo Laredo. Marina, the elder sister, persuades him to let her go there one night to attend a concert with her cousin Patricia. Jack wants to say no—Nuevo Laredo is a very dangerous city, controlled by drug cartels. But eventually he agrees. Marina and Patricia head out to the concert, but they never come back . . .

A frantic hunt begins, with Jack leading the way. But this is Nuevo Laredo, and girls go missing all the time here. He's lucky to find that a good cop, Gonzalo Soler, is leading their investigation, but soon the whole police force is suspended due to endemic corruption.

To have any chance of finding Marina and Patricia, Jack and Gonzalo must take the law into their own hands. Their efforts to find the girls become more and more dangerous, and they uncover truths about the city of Nuevo Laredo that neither one of them ever wanted to face.

Sam Hawken lives near Washington, DC, with his wife and son. His previous novels, Tequila Sunset and The Dead Women of Juarez, were both nominated for Dagger awards.

About this title

About the Author

Sam Hawken is a native of Texas, who now lives near Washington DC with his wife and son. Current events in Mexico are his preoccupation, and Missing is his third novel set on the US/Mexican border. His previous novels Tequila Sunset (9781846688546) and The Dead Women of Juarez (9781846687747) were both nominated for Dagger awards.

Review

Hawken trades in gritty realism * Irish Times * Praise for Tequila Sunset Haunting ... recalls the best of James M. Cain * Financial Times * A grim tale of foreboding ... explosive -- Alastair Mabbott * Herald * A fascinating, tense and engaging read that draws you into the lives of the characters with consummate ease until you reluctantly turn that final page * Crimesquad * Raw and gritty * Shortlist * The novel is a thrilling ride, but it also makes you appreciate the seriousness behind it -- David Hebblethwaite * We Love This Book * This brilliantly written, dramatic but vicious novel will keep you on tenterhooks all the way to the end...Tequila Sunset is realistically composed, deftly put together and drenched with violence and aggression that would make any sane person run for their life...Hopefully a book that will become a classic and will be read for years to come. Well worth losing sleep over -- Ayo Onatade * Shorts * A fast moving and well plotted story...Hawken continues to deliver -- Robin Leggett * Bookbag * Interesting, refreshing and engrossing -- Francesca Peak * Latino Life * Unsettlingly tense -- Howard Calvert * Shortlist * A dark, atmospheric book that reads like a draft for a Quentin Tarantino film -- Rob Dex * Press Association * A gripping, stylish thriller * Catholic Herald * This is a dark and gritty read that excels in its evocative depiction of the hot and dusty town of Nuevo Laredo, bristling with the threat of violence. Not for the faint-hearted. * Canberra Times, Australia * Brutal and believable -- Simon Copeland * The Sun * Hawken's prose is concrete, unadorned, brusquely vigorous, a form of noir minimalism. * The Australian *

About this edition

• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1846689422
• ISBN 13: 9781846689420
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384