No Trace

No Trace
By Barry Maitland, Allen and Unwin 340 pages, $29.95

The eighth instalment in Barry Maitland’s crime fiction series, following detectives Brock and Kolla from the UK’s Serious Crime Group, opens with a map of the crime scene and surrounding area. For a newcomer to the works of the popular Australian mystery writer, it’s a hint that the reader is expected to attempt solving the case alongside the investigators.

Some mystery writers, uncertain of their skills of deception, will keep the most vital clues to themselves so that nobody can possibly solve the crime before the hero. Maitland valiantly discards this safety net, daring readers to untangle the clues ahead of the police. He has the mystery writer’s talent for keeping the reader guessing, but making the solution, once revealed, seem like the only logical conclusion.

No Trace has detectives investigating the disappearance of a London child as part of a string of recent abductions. The investigation is complicated by the girl’s artist father, who only seems interested in profiting from his daughter’s disappearance, and a particularly morbid local art crowd determined to help him.

The story unravels steadily, with enough revelations to keep the interest level high. And, most importantly for the mystery genre, all the pieces fall into place at the end. A gripping read.

– Pte John Wellfare