Missing

A Christine Lane Mystery #2

by Dianne Scott

A missing student. A dead-end investigation. Can a police officer uncover the truth before the child is lost forever? Policewoman Christine Lane feels guilty about the absent boy–why hadn’t she sensed a problem when she visited his class? After breaking up a fight between students, Christine had sent the children on their way. The next day, one boy vanishes. Searching Toronto Island for the ten-year-old, Christine is shocked when investigators eventually conclude the child ran away. How did he get off the island? Why hasn’t he surfaced anywhere? And why did he leave the field trip in the first place? When Christine probes further, she receives pushback from her boss, the school board and the classmates’ families. Then the threats begin. Can Christine figure out what happened the night the boy disappeared, before she is shut down for good? MISSING is the second standalone book in the award-winning Christine Lane Mystery series. If you like female protagonists with grit, atmospheric settings and page-turning suspense, then you’ll love Dianne Scott’s MISSING. Crime Writers of Canada Excellence in Crime Writing Award Finalist.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Amazon

262 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2022

About the author

Dianne Scott lives a short ferry ride from Toronto Island, which is the setting of her mystery novels. She is the award-winning author of the Christine Lane Mystery series.

The first book, FINAL LOOK, was a #1 Amazon bestseller, Kobo Emerging Writers Award nominee and winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award. The second book, MISSING, was a Finalist for the CWC Excellence in Writing Award. LOST AND FOUND and SABOTAGE are the third and fourth books in the series.

When Dianne is not writing, she is walking Toronto’s neighborhoods, coffee klatching with friends and cuddling her Bichon Poodle. She also teaches literacy skills and is working on her Erne in pickleball.

Dianne loves connecting with readers and book clubs, so feel free to contact her at https://diannescottauthor.com.

Receive a free short story when you sign up for her monthly newsletter at https://diannescottauthor.com/newslet... where she describes the writer’s life and things she's been enjoying lately.

Reviews

[Kathy]

Now that I know the characters in this series, it makes the book that much more enjoyable.
They begin to feel like friends or family.
I also love that the main settings are the Toronto Islands and Toronto itself in the late 1960's.
Christine and her relationship with her police partner is growing and the back and forth between them is so much more personal. You can feel the closeness deepening.
As usual, Christine can't let a tragedy go, without a just and viable conclusion.
Despite the coroner saying 10 year old Jacob died by drowning, she knew and felt there was more to it. She risked losing her job and eventually her life by investigating regardless of the police saying the case was closed.
I look forward to the next book in this series.

[Donna]

A good mystery. I enjoyed this one much more, probably because I knew all the characters from the previous book!

[Birgit]

The first two thirds - I am really sorry to say - nearly put me to sleep; I had to constantly remind myself that the story was set in 1968 (if I remember correctly), and that things were different then, and more difficult for women.
In the last chapters, the story picked up a bit, but at the ending, there were still too many questions open for my taste, e.g. why did the culprit do what they did, and was their protector really just protecting, or was there something more sinister? Surely with the events happening as they did, there must have been something before the current story that people would have noticed?
All in all, the story was ok, but this is not a series I will follow. Personal taste :)

[Robynn]

I was so excited going into this book because it was set in Toronto—specifically on the Toronto Islands. What I didn’t realize was that the story takes place in 1968. I didn’t figure that out until more than halfway through, thanks to a simple birthday reference. That’s probably on me for not paying much attention to the book’s description!

That said, the historical setting became pretty hard to ignore. Within the first three chapters, there were already several things that made it obvious we were in a very different era: female police officers wearing skirts, not carrying guns, a “Women’s Bureau,” etc.

The story itself was decent, and I enjoyed the Toronto setting, but honestly, I kept wishing this had been a present-day crime story. I think I would have enjoyed it so much more!

[Andre Huot]

It was interesting to read an crime novel set in Canada and one that gives due credit to a female police officer. That beinbg said the "attack" with a BB gun is alittle hard to believe, unless these guns were cabable of rapid fire, and very powerful, back in the late 1960's. The " guilty party" became obvious a little too soon. Howerever, I still enjoyed the story and it made me feel smart, which it not a bad thing in my books!

[Phil Howard]

I enjoy the characters in both of these books so far. The plot of this one doesn't tie together very well at the end. No reason given for the taking of Christine's brother -- no explanation after the fight scene regarding any charges brought against the father and son villains. Just not much closure all around. I'm undecided about reading any more of the series.

[Heuge]

I want to like this series as it's set in Toronto on Centre Island with a woman police office facing the usual misogynistic characters, but the story line while she's not solving the crime is so repetitive, and the ending is much like the 1st book ..... what the heck happened ?? Unlikely, unclear, unexplained.

I'll read the next one, and then ... who knows??

[Carla]

I read this novel just hours after completing Final Look, the first novel in this series. Much of what I said in that review also applies here. The plot is different, of course, but the setting of Toronto Island is really a character in itself (as least for me), shaping and assisting with plot development.

[Virginia L]

What happened to Jordon?

I enjoyed this story. The comrodery between officer Lane and her partner is very entertaining. While working their assignment on the island a 10 year old boy goes missing. Trouble is coming. Very good story.

[Rich Stanley]

A good read, I enjoyed the plot, although it was a little slow in building, I didn't really get lost in the plot until the last quarter of the book. Christine, the main character wasn't, in my opinion, developed as well as I expected.
An enjoyable read nevertheless.

[Connie Glasgow]

next please

[patricia sendelbach]

Suspenseful and captivating! Dianne Scott is a skilled writer.

[Mary Simkin]

Took way toooo long to get interesting.

[Barb Spivak-Mann]

Quick enjoyable read, taking place on Center island and Toronto. Loved the cops riding their bikes around the island during the summer months. Was fairly predictable though, but still enjoyable.

[Judy Richardson]

Fun to read

The characters are so well matched and have each other’s back- Secrets are hard to keep and when children are involved you walk carefully-

[Sam C]

Enjoyable

Very entertaining read. Liked the characters and will be reading more Dianne Scott books. I can't do twenty words. Bye

[Liza]

I'm not a huge fan of 'historical' stories (1960s) but enjoyed the mystery of the boy who disappeared. The sexism that the MC had to deal with was typical but not reasonable.

Great book

[Diane Stringer-Corbett]

Was interesting, especially since it was set in Ontario. Made me feel at home, while reading and characters more to my life.

[JANE]

Good

2nd book I have read by this author. I enjoyed both books.. . . . . . . . .

[Judy Scaife]

Interesting read

I found the story interesting and the plot kept me reading. Not a book that I couldn’t put down, but one that I needed to finish all the same.