Gone by Mo Hayder

Evening is closing in as Bristol murder detective Jack Caffery arrives to interview the victim of a car-jacking. He's dealt with routine car thefts before, but this one is different. This car was taken by force. And on the back seat was a passenger. An eleven-year-old girl who is still missing.
Before long the jacker starts to communicate with the police and Caffery knows he's going to do it again. Soon the jacker will choose another car with another child on the back seat!

A first rate crime thriller!

 Jack Caffery is a very good detective and one who has always relied on his intuition. When it comes to cases involving missing children he also feels a strong personal connection because of his brother who disappeared many years ago. As the investigation progresses his instincts tell him something is badly wrong. The jacker is clever, taunting the police and the children's families with letters and somehow always manages to stay one step ahead of the law.

Gone is the fifth in a series featuring Jack Caffery but the fact that I haven't read any of them was not a worry and the book can easily be read as a standalone. Jack and his colleague, Flea Marley, head of the Underwater Search Unit, obviously have a past and enough of the back story is given to understand why the present misunderstanding exists while also providing an interesting secondary theme.

I loved the presence of The Walking Man, a tramp-like mystic who wanders the countryside looking for the grave of his lost daughter. Often Jack will seek him out and a night spent talking with him and sleeping under the stars helps Jack find the answers to what troubles him.

Gone makes compelling reading - nail-biting suspense and the unexpected twists and turns of the police investigation are balanced well with a sympathetic portrayal of grieving and despairing parents.

I recommend.