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Ed James
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The Missing: An unputdownable gripping Scottish Detective Mystery (Police Scotland Crime Series Book 9) Kindle Edition

by Ed James (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3,036 ratings
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A missing schoolgirl. A tormented cop. A family mystery.

Meet PC Craig Hunter of Edinburgh's Local Policing Unit. Ex-Army. Ex-CID. Back in uniform.

A straightforward domestic call out twists out of control when 16-year-old schoolgirl Stephanie Ferguson alleges her stepfather, Doug Ferguson, has been abusing her. Hunter is soon working with DS Chantal Jain of Police Scotland’s Sexual Offences Unit to kick off the prosecution. But before a full statement can be taken, Stephanie disappears from hospital.

Now, Hunter must hunt the girl down before anyone else can. Where has Stephanie gone? Did she run? Or did someone take her? Will he get to the truth before it gets beaten into lies? Or before Stephanie is silenced for good…? And why does this case keep throwing up old enemies from Hunter’s past?

THE MISSING is a fast-paced police procedural, full of action and suspense that will grip you until its breathless conclusion.

Praise for The Missing:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This will definitely be high on my favorite books of the year list, the finely woven plot unwound bit by bit, with lots of plot twists and red herrings that kept me guessing as the book raced towards the shocking finale." – Goodreads review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Couldn't put it down. Tight prose and fast moving action, a difficult subject yet dealt with in a manner that had me gripped from the first chapter. For fans, this is set to be a fantastic new series yet it also stands alone for those who have yet to discover Cullen...." – Goodreads review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Well. Ed James has done it again! The start of another series that looks to be a sure fire winner. Grittier than Scott Cullen, Craig Hunter is just as interesting and believable" – Goodreads review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Yet again well written with plenty of humour and introducing new PC Craig Hunter and showing another side to Scott Cullen this is definitely worth reading!" – Goodreads review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Wow, what a cracker of a book" – Amazon review

The Police Scotland series:
  1. Dead in the Water
  2. Ghost in the Machine
  3. Devil in the Detail
  4. Fire in the Blood
  5. Stab in the Dark
  6. Cops and Robbers
  7. Liars and Thieves
  8. Cowboys and Indians
  9. The Missing
  10. The Hunted
  11. Heroes and Villains
  12. The Black Isle
  13. The Cold Truth
  14. The Dead End
Previous page
  1. Book 9 of 14
    Police Scotland Crime Series
  2. Print length
    437 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    May 29, 2016
  6. File size
    2256 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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From the Publisher

The covers to the Hunter trilogy.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01GCSJODW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grey Dog Books (May 29, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 29, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2256 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 437 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3,036 ratings

About the author

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Ed James

Ed James

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Hi, my name is Ed James and I'm the author of multiple series of crime novels.

If you want to contact me, copy the addresses into your app of choice!

Mailing list — https://geni.us/EJmailer

Email — ed@edjames.co.uk

Twitter — http://www.twitter.com/edjamesauthor

Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/EdJamesAuthor

The bestselling DI Simon Fenchurch series is set on the gritty streets of East London, with seven books in the series.

The Scott Cullen series of Scottish police procedurals features a young Edinburgh Detective Constable investigating crimes from the bottom rung of the career ladder he's desperate to climb. The first book, "Ghost in the Machine", has been downloaded over 400,000 times, hitting both the Amazon UK & US top five.

Spinning off the Cullen books, the Craig Hunter books star a PTSD-suffering ex-squaddie now working as a cop investigating sexual abuse cases, with lots of slapstick and office banter. The first three books are out now.

DS Vicky Dodds has two books set in Dundee, with another two planned for release in 2021.

I live in the Scottish Borders, Scotland and I write full-time, but used to work in IT project management, where I filled my weekly commute to London by literally writing on planes, trains and automobiles.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
3,036 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Donna G. W.
5.0 out of 5 stars a great series. In MISSING
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
I have read all the Scott Cullen books, a great series. In MISSING, I was glad to see my favorites, Scott and Sharon, make an appearance. Missing is a great mystery/police procedural. The characters who inhabit Mr. James' books are well developed and they come alive. Oh, how I would love to be in the same room with those Scottish police officers! I also read SNARED. The first chapter was hard for me to read because I am animal lover, have several rescued animals, and also a beloved Pug. It was well worth reading and it was hard to hate the "bad guys" even when you knew they were in the wrong. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his author's books.
2 people found this helpful
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Carrie B
4.0 out of 5 stars Conflicted
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2020
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The book as a police procedural was engaging overall, but I did have a few issues coming to this book as a first time reader of this author. The introduction of the various characters at the beginning of the book was confusing because their interactions were so short. It wasn’t until well into the book that some backstories emerged which allowed me to connect with the main character, Hunter. A larger issue for me was the subject matter. Hunter and Jain in interviews in the book turned me off: I couldn’t see officers acting in that manner. While I can somewhat rationalize that victims of abuse could act as Stephanie did, I never sympathized with her during the story. I continued to think she was lying for some other reason. The resolution of the book, unfortunately, didn’t help me because it just seemed like overkill on all the different ways people damaged Stephanie. Not a real abuse victim but a symbol for all the ways that a child can be abused.
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C. Phelps
3.0 out of 5 stars Gritty story
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2016
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Took a while to understand the phraseology. The story was gritty but well written as I felt dirty, hungry and exhausted after reading. Will not pursue other books.
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Gary B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2017
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I have read all the Scott Cullen books and have thoroughly enjoyed them (5stars). While waiting for the next to be written I decided to try this book. I half expected it to be a few steps down from the Cullen series. Boy, was I wrong-- l really liked this book, so much so that part way through it I thought if this book is this good the Fenchurch series might also be good. So I bought them.
2 people found this helpful
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Marge
4.0 out of 5 stars Good detecting and humor
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2020
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This is my first Craig Hunter book. Though the crimes in it are not funny, some of the dialogue is very humorous. Quickly, go buy this book!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book by Ed James
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. The plot was well written with many twists and unexpected turns. I liked the character (and relationship) development of Craig, Chantal as well as the interactions with Cullen and Sharon and seeing a different side to them.

If you haven't read the Cullen series, please do! You'll enjoy each and every one of them. I'm just starting Mr. James' supernature series.
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LauraO
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, keep going
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2016
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Interesting debut for new character Craig Hunter: I like the overlapping with other characters coming from the Scott Cullen series. I like this one better and I am looking forward to the next eposode
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Jim McCarthy Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars Where did Stephanie go ?
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2016
Police Constable Craig Hunter is a new protagonist from author Ed James in "Missing", a new series from the writer who brought us the Scott Cullen series. The new Hunter series looks to go in another slightly direction than the iconic Cullen Series. Craig Hunter back in uniform and knocked down to a P.C. for the past two years had been an acting D.C. before "Budget cuts" demoted him. Hunter with a huge chip on his shoulder partners with P.C. Finlay Sinclair. Although Sinclair and Hunter seem to work well together, Hunter has nothing but contempt for the lazy Finlay. The pair get called out to the home of Pauline Ferguson who informs the two cops that her husband Douglas has been sexually assaulting her 16 year old daughter Stephanie. However while the exam at the hospital is under way Stephanie manages to slip past Finlay. Stephanie is out the door unnoticed and jumps onto a bus for getaway. Maddingly Finlay has a knack for being distracted while playing video games on his cell phone. The results of the exam don't seem to show signs of sexual assault which causes mother Pauline to almost have a melt down. D.I. Sharon McNeill and D.S. Chantal Jain take the lead on the rape case. While stepfather Douglas sits in jail the police are all scattered looking for Stephanie. Hunter discovers Stephanie's biological father Robert Quarrie, who was serving eight years for sexual assault on Stephanie had been released after just a couple years and was loose. The police are stymied by their lack of ability to find the 16 year old. Neil Alexander who was Stephanie's 27 year old "Boyfriend" seemed clueless as did Stephanie's best friend Olivia Pearce. 27 year old bus driver Alexander is a weird duck to be sure. Although he tries his best to help the police. In a case where the police are continually thwarted by the characters within their patch author Ed James weaves a pretty good tale of suspense. Also arriving on the scene is Scott Cullen himself. Hunter absolutely detests Cullen and is aghast when he's not only forced to interact but help Cullen. Cullen of course is oblivious to the severely negative attitude Hunter has towards him. It makes Hunter even more upset when he sees Cullen hasn't a clue he's more than upset having to deal with Cullen. I'd have to say the interactions between Hunter and Cullen are some of the best parts of reading in the book. The supporting characters as with all of author Ed James' books are colorful and entertaining. There are some pretty unique characters walking around Scotland on either side of the law. Hunter as a protagonist does fall a bit short. With this first book of series we see very little of Hunter's personality beyond a huge crush on Chantal Jain , and hatred of Scott Cullen. Although the acrimony between Cullen and Hunter drive help drive the plot along. An extremely quick reading 350 pages took me three sittings to get through. (About 3 hours). A solid four stars out of a possible five stars for, "Missing", A Craig Hunter novel. Having read 9(?) Ed James books to date I'd highly recommend this suspense thriller. Any Ed James fans will easily enjoy this solid read. Reading the Scott Cullen series first would give a good perspective of the unique characters before checking out, "Missing". But regardless do not miss this one by any means.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amyloueliza
5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic, down to earth and totally engaging.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
I became an Ed James fan a couple of more years ago. I love his style and how he lets the story unfold. I love the second dialogue that runs after a character has spoken directly, we are then often given lines of thought. Loved it.

I would love to see the books in Audible format too. I would happily read. I enjoy the opportunity to engage in fully submerged reading.

Keep up with your great work Ed.
2 people found this helpful
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LizzieB
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read!
Reviewed in Canada on June 12, 2019
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I enjoyed this book immensely. It's fast paced and had my attention right from the start. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
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mike sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars Great plot
Reviewed in France on February 3, 2018
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You really get the impression this guy was in the police force Amazing detail and good sentiment all the way through .some of our cops would do well to read and follow the example!!!
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Tiffin
4.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery thriller
Reviewed in Australia on March 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Well written but complicated story. I enjoyed the book but rather got lost among the highways and byways of Edinburgh and it's surrounds. I have twice visited this lovely city but many years ago. Would like to know more of the characters but will look forward to reading the next in the series.
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Tara N. Moreau
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on October 2, 2017
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Excellent!
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