Verity Vanishes

By AB Morgan http://www.abmorgan.co.uk/

Published by Hobeck Books https://www.hobeck.net/

328 pages ISBN 9781913793791

Publication date 26 July 2022

Verity Vanishes is the third book in the Quirk Files series featuring husband and wife private detectives Peddyr and Connie Quirk.

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Rebecca at Hobeck Books and the author for the invitation to participate.

From the blurb

When Verity Hudson goes missing, Peddyr Quirk – with assistance from his effervescent wife Connie – investigates a strange new case which unfolds in an unsavoury part of town. It soon becomes apparent that they are not the only ones looking for Verity.

A freelance researcher is searching for her birth mother.

An influential man of power and money is desperate to find his estranged sister.

A local politician is determined to expose a hidden tragedy.

A TV journalist will stop at nothing to expose the true story … if it can be uncovered.

Where is Verity, who is Verity, and who will find her first?

Synopsis

When Cara Laidlaw’s father leaves her a letter as a death bed confession she is rocked to the core. She was adopted and was a replacement for their own child who died in infancy. Her adoptive parents were supporting and loving, as good as any blood parents, but now she feels adrift. Was this a final act of kindness by her father or merely an albatross to wear around her neck. Perhaps the answer will be finding her true parents? As Cara is a freelance researcher, she well equipped to track them down. The first step is a DNA testing kit which links her anonymously to a blood relative. Then a few social media requests get the search moving and she sees the opportunity to pitch a programme to her media contacts.

Her mother is Verity Ann Hudson (nee Thorn) and after tracking down her address Cara rents a new build flat opposite with the hope of observing her before she blows cover and makes contact. However, Verity simply vanishes… The area is rather insalubrious, so the neighbours are no help in finding her.

Cara is not the only one looking for Verity though. The other DNA hit, Isaac Harkness, managed to contact her in the hope of a family reunion with his father, the rich businessman Austin Harkness, who is her brother. The meeting didn’t go well though, with Verity wanting a substantial payment otherwise skeletons would be released from the cupboards of their past. With Verity missing and potential a timebomb of scandal waiting to explode, Austin asks old school friend and solicitor Bernard Kershaw to help him out.

Bernard calls upon his old friends the Quirks an unlikely pair of husband-and-wife private detectives to track her down. Rather low key and unassuming can the Quirks locate Verity.

My thoughts

Having just read Verity Vanishes for the second time I’m typing this review with a smile on my face, it is that kind of book. This is the first of the Quirk Files I’ve read, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I guess it would be regarded as a cozy crime caper but for me it is much more than that.

The plot appears simple, find Verity, but to do that requires unearthing the past and sifting through the thirty years of family history since. Verity’s tale is sad but it’s a testament to the authors story telling ability to provide such an upbeat and positive novel. The pacing is gentle, totally in keeping with the main characters, who will always get there in the end.

The character of Cara is nicely drawn, her desire to find her roots, like many people who are adopted, are believable, and they can often make compelling stories. In this case she (along with the Quirks) uncovers more than she expected, and the expression let sleeping dogs lie spring to mind. Cara’s friendship with Lois is an excellent counterpoint to the Quirks double act, two modern young women looking out for each other in a rough area. First thoughts about local politician and neighbourhood busybody Christine Fowler is that she is included as object of fun but the reader will discover hidden depths and a desire for redemption.

The stars of the show are the Quirk’s and what unusual characters they are. Peddyr likes his beer; it’s been known to make him nod off after Sunday lunch when he’s had a pint or two. His wife Connie’s hands are lethal; pot plants have no chance when she’s around. Private detectives who are normal, domesticated, slightly dull, with no psychological baggage and in a loving marriage, where’s the fun in that? Well, there is a lot more than you may expect, the believable level of domesticity and their comfort with each other as they potter and joke their way through the investigation is what makes it all work as a novel. Lovingly portrayed and staying just the right side of twee these are no Howard and Hilda (from Ever Decreasing Circles) but formidable players underestimated at your peril.

The humour, which runs throughout, is gentle and at times silly but perfectly judged. Even the bits which could be regarded as vulgar by some, such as dogs farting, are delivered with an almost childish innocence which will have you sniggering. A Pilates teacher called Hazel Nutt, just the sort of silliness the media loves, but without going full Bart Simpson phone call. A little bit schoolboy at times but who has really grown up and grown out of it, I know I haven’t.

Oh and there is Roger the dog, every book should include a good dog!

Verity Vanishes is as comforting as your favourite old coat on a cold winter’s day. So get a copy and a mug of Connie’s special hot chocolate (made with condensed milk) get comfy and embrace the quirky.

Verity Vanishes can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

After nearly thirty years in the NHS as a specialist mental health nurse, nowadays I write crime. Why? Well, firstly I had to give up nursing when my heart went wonky and I needed to save my own sanity, and secondly because ever since Peter Rabbit risked his life in Mr. McGregor’s garden, I’ve been thrilled by thrillers and crime.

Don’t forget to check out the other stops on this Blog Tour: