Book Review: The Disappeared by M. R. Hall

The Disappeared
M. R. Hall
Simon & Schuster, 2009
ISBN 9781439156988
Hardcover

Jenny Cooper is a coroner.  Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?  She declares people dead.  That gets more complicated when there is no body.  Amira Jamal brings a case to Jenny that starts out complicated and only gets more so.  Seven years ago, her son and one of his friends disappeared.  The presumption at the time was that the two boys had been radicalized, and left England for Pakistan to become involved in extremist Islamic movements.  Ms. Jamal doesn’t believe that and wants Jenny to investigate the case.

Jenny does it, because it’s her job.  As she delves deeper into the case, it becomes apparent that something is not right.  The higher ups seem to be more involved than they need to be; British Security Services doesn’t really want to cooperate at all.  Jenny begins to take steps that are very close to the line of impropriety.

Her personal life isn’t all that wonderful, and this contributes to her discomfort about the Jamal case.  She is, on some levels, incredibly fragile, and yet she somehow keeps finding the strength to press on when she has plenty of reasons to cave.

Hall has some great characters, and a very believable plot.  Not all the characters are likeable, but that’s how life is.  The Disappeared will certainly have a lot of appeal for readers who want to see their protagonist take on a corrupt system and find some kind of victory.

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, March 2010.

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April 2, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Full Reviews

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