In early 1990s Belfast, a teacher and mother named Monica Hearn suddenly goes missing. At around the same time, one of the teacher's students, a young boy in foster care, also disappears. No one sees them again. Many years later, Sue Hearn, the grown daughter of the teacher, tends to her ailing father in their dilapidated Victorian mansion, and while digging in the garden, finds the bones of a small child. A cold case is open again and DI Asha Harvey along with DI Aaron Birch are investigating.

The action in this detective thriller novel moved along at a steady clip, and both Asha and Aaron are very likeable characters. However some of the police actions and decisions didn't make sense to me at all. I cannot explain this further without introducing spoilers, which I prefer not to do. It is clear at the end of the novel that there are ongoing issues which will lead into the next novel in the series and that is perfectly fine. However, what isn't acceptable to me is that I still had questions about the disappearance of Monica Hearn that were not answered. The sequence of events during the final chapters of the novel was confusing and rather muddled as well, which left me feeling vaguely dissatisfied.

I would say that the series as a whole has great potential, however the writing needs to be a little more crisp, perhaps with more judicious editing.