The Broken Afternoon (DI Wilkins Mysteries)

Product Information

The author uses the storylines of two different, seemingly unlinked cases, which at times overlap, yet only come together at the end.

A four-year-old girl goes missing in plain sight outside her nursery in Oxford, a middle-class, affluent area,

Ray begins to delve deeper, unearthing an underground network of criminal forces in the local area. But while Ray’s investigation stalls Ryan brings his unique talents to unofficial and quite illegal inquiries which will bring him into a confrontation with the very officials who have thrown him out of the force.

The senior investigating officer (SIO) is DI Raymond Wilkins a stylish and personable officer who is going to be fully immersed in the case, his wife Dianne being pregnant and twins. As the case intensifies and takes a darker twist solving it becomes an obsession, one he ends up staking his career and reputation on. Determination comes at a cost though as he neglects Dianne by missing her prenatal appointments and not giving her the attention she needs, they start to drift apart. A very descriptive, gripping writing style, full of anger and emotion. without ever getting boring anywhere, with great attention to detail, and well-developed, likable two main characters. Rising star on the Thames Valley force, DI Ray Wilkins has the unenviable task of directing the search for Poppy. The press conference he handles exudes confidence in the ability of the police to locate Poppy safely, but in reality there is very little to go on. I found the subject matter disturbing and difficult but Mason handled it carefully and it didn’t ultimately put me off enjoying the novel” The search for four year-old Poppy Clarke is urgent, driven as much by the clamours of the media as the tearful anguish of Poppy’s mother. Ray is painfully aware of the adage about “the first forty eight hours”, but clues are scant, and he has exhausted the other convention of “close family member”I have two daughters, and became part of the parents' despair. And the terrible thing is, that feeling never goes away, even now that they are grown up, the worries remain, always. Ray begins to delve deeper, unearthing an underground network of criminal forces in the local area. But while Ray's investigation stalls Ryan brings his unique talents to unofficial and quite illegal inquiries which will bring him into a confrontation with the very officials who have thrown him out of the force. The story is told at a fast pace, with short chapters, a staccato writing style, with lots of slang, irony, and informal language use. While Ray's investigation grinds to a halt, Ray is busy behind the scenes putting the pieces of more than one puzzle together, despite the risk this poses to his second chance... and trouble is brewing.

As a copper he was unorthodox, irreverent to his superiors, but with a real nose for the mean streets and those who walk them. Ray Wilkins is university educated – Balliol, no less – a smooth dresser, good looking and at ease in press conferences; his partner Diane is pregnant with twins.Could the two things be related? And can Ryan manage his anger for long enough to get himself reinstated as a detective? I absolutely loved the first book in this detective series which is set in Oxford, featuring two detectives, Ray and Ryan who both have the surname Wilkins. Move over Morse. Simon Mason Oxford crime novel breathes fresh life into the police procedural’ Val McDermid I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of The Broken Afternoon, the second novel to feature DI Ray Wilkins and former DI Ryan Wilkins of Thames Valley Police.