REMAIN SILENT

Steiner’s Manon Bradshaw is back on the case, looking to solve the murder of a migrant while seeking the elusive work-life balance.

Manon finds herself, in her mid-40s, dealing with the highs and lows of living with her partner, Mark; her toddler, Teddy; and her adopted teenage son, Fly. When she returns to the Cambridgeshire police force to work on cold cases part-time, she misses the glory days of her time as a detective but also embraces the more flexible schedule (with more time for online shopping). But then she discovers a body hanging from a tree, and she’s quickly pulled back into the thrill—and chaotic schedule—of active investigation. The dead man is a Lithuanian migrant, so Manon and her earnest partner, Davy, must confront the terrible living and working conditions of people who have come to England seeking better circumstances only to find themselves exploited and hated. As in her other Bradshaw mysteries, Steiner doesn’t shy away from confronting the current political climate, and this time she also gives us an honest portrait of a woman, still endearingly human, faced with her own aging as well as the constant exhaustion of caring for her loved ones, pursuing a career, and dealing with a family health crisis. Steiner continues the structure from her previous novels of delivering different chapters from different third-person perspectives, but while this decision adds necessary backstory, it also relegates Manon this time to a more supporting role—and in doing so, makes her feel almost like a caricature of herself rather than a dynamic force of nature with a giant heart. In this case, differentiation has muted, rather than intensified, the novel’s energy.

Still savvy, sharp, and smart but a step down from Steiner's previous books.