THE RADISH HOLE

An inspector combs Alaska for a missing person in this fourth installment of Buell’s mystery series.

Annie Brewster, who leads the Alaska Investigation Bureau’s Cold Case Unit, handpicks her team’s latest case: Rayleen Urgen has been missing for four years, ever since cops discovered her abandoned car in 2000. Though a report had been filed, Rayleen’s husband Clifford Urgen apparently didn’t believe she was missing. He was in prison at that time for the 1996 robbery of a gold dealer who employed Rayleen. Clifford was released a couple of months ago—unlike the other robber, his father, who’s still incarcerated. The AIB unit, including Annie’s partner Arturo Feliz, considers various possibilities: the thieves didn’t return all the loot, Rayleen was in on the heist, or maybe she was the victim of a seemingly random crime. They interview numerous people and scour for evidence (including inside Rayleen’s car), hoping something will lead them to the missing woman, wherever she may be. This installment in Buell’s series, like those that precede it, is a deliberately-paced procedural. Annie is hyper-focused, laying out aspects of the case like puzzle pieces and wisely separating what the inspectors know from what’s still unknown. This entails intermittent recaps as well as lists of the unit’s developing theories (is Rayleen hiding from someone?). Alaska makes for an indelible setting, as the cold climate necessitates “those ice thingies you strap on your boots” and is impossible to predict. The narrative sticks closely to Annie’s perspective; readers don’t know much more than she does, following her methodical investigation as she digs up compelling evidence or makes a startling connection. It all gives rise to a resolution that’s both deftly deployed and convincing.

The returning series star shines once again in this slow-burn mystery.