The Broken Afternoon

By Simon Mason @SimonMasonbooks

Narrated by Matt Addis https://mattaddis.com/ @themattaddis

Published by Riverrun Books @riverrunbooks (an imprint of Quercus Books) https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/ @QuercusBooks

315 pages (9 hours 40 minutes) ISBN 9781529415735

Publication date 27 April 2023

The Broken Afternoon is the second novel in the DI Wilkins Mysteries series.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley @NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The cover

Misty generic street scene (presumably Oxford), atmospheric but probably wouldn’t grab my attention in a shop.

From the blurb

A four-year-old girl goes missing in plain sight outside her nursery in Oxford, a middle-class, affluent area, her mother only a stones-throw away.

Ryan Wilkins, one of the youngest ever Detective Inspectors in the Thames Valley force, dishonourably discharged three months ago, watches his former partner DI Ray Wilkins deliver a press conference, confirming a lead.

Ray begins to delve deeper, unearthing an underground network of dark forces in the local area. But will he be able to get closer to the truth of the disappearance? And will Ryan be able to stay away?

The narration

A good solid performance considering the full range of voices, by sex and age, required.

My thoughts

The novel begins with a harrowing crime, child abduction. Poppy Clark goes missing from her nursery school whilst wearing a pirate costume. There are no immediate sightings, but surely somebody would remember a little girl dressed like that? With most crimes there is a ‘window of opportunity’ after which it becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve a conviction. With a child abduction that window is exceedingly small, perhaps only a few hours. If they are taken by an estranged parent or a family member, they will be relatively safe and there will be more time, but there is a strong possibility of fleeing the country. If they are taken by a stranger, then the likelihood of falling into the hands of abusers is high and the available time might be little more than an hour. So immediately we have a highly sensitive, emotive crime to deal with and a real race against time.

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.

Until a few months ago Ray had a colleague, another DI R Wilkins, Ryan, who is pretty much the antithesis of Ray. Ray has a prosperous family, went to university and was a boxing Blue, whereas Ryan went through the care system, had little formal education, but possessing the survival skills needed from having to be street smart he managed to pass the DI training. Ryan is the loosest of loose canons through, he is reckless, abrasive and no respecter of protocol or authority. These qualities earned him a dishonourable discharge from the force so now he is working security night shifts to survive. Two things happen to turn his world upside down. A schoolfriend is killed by a hit and run a matter of minutes after Ryan saw him and he is given a shot at redemption by reinstatement to the force, if only he can convince the review panel.

Having two Wilkins, Ray and Ryan, can be a little confusing at times, but of course they are not so much as opposites as different sides of the same coin, Ying to Yang. They work on different strands of the investigation through the story, Ryan is not even a police officer, but were their paths intersect their interrelationship works well. Ryan is impulsive and instinctive but has the keener investigative instinctive, Ray tries to temper his recklessness and ensure the case isn’t compromised. The third key officer is the Superintendent Wallace who is everyone’s idea of a tough ball-breaking Scottish officer, who suffers no nonsense but is also practical. He has diversity statistics to fulfil and Ryan being ‘white trailer trash’ ticks one of the boxes. Wallace also recognises Ryan is an officer who can get results and because of that he may be asset if he can be brought under control. Naturally this is easier said than done.

The plot digs into paedophilia and child abuse without getting too dark or disturbing. There is some examination of the reason for their actions and attempts to rehabilitate offenders, but in the end, there is an acceptance that many can’t be. There is also the influence of money and power both to reform and to corrupt, often these gangs are protected by individuals of influence. We also see the problems of a failing care system, where individuals can be damaged from an early age with little chance of redemption in the eyes of some. Many of the faults with Ryan’s attitude being down to his time in the care system.

Family is at the core of the story. There is the pain suffered by Poppy’s mother, the redemptive love Ryan shows for his son (little Ryan), the breakdown in relationship between Ray and Dianne and in the case of the offender, there are the lengths family members will go to protect one of their own.

The story moves along at a good pace as progress is made and then stalls. The narrative switches between following Ray and then Ryan which keeps the interest going but is in no way choppy so is easy to follow. There’s enough action and jeopardy to keep most readers happy and Ryan’s occasional bursts of insubordination and offensiveness, bright some light relief to a story where humour would have been inappropriate.

The Broken Afternoon is an entertaining police thriller that tackles every parent’s nightmare with tact and compassion.

The Broken Afternoon can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Simon Mason was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, on 5 February 1962. He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He splits his time between writing at home and a part-time editorial position with David Fickling Books, an imprint of Random House and publisher of his 2011 children’s novel, Moon Pie.

He is the author of the Quigleys series for young readers: The Quigleys (Highly Commended in the UK’s Branford Boase Award), The Quigleys at Large, The Quigleys Not for Sale, and The Quigleys in a Spin. He has also written three adult novels.

Simon lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.

Source: Goodreads profile

The narrator

Matt is a highly regarded audiobook narrator, and has voiced a wealth of work for Audible, Penguin Random House, Naxos, Oxford University Press, Hachette, Hodder & Stoughton, Bloomsbury and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. He is a multiple AudioFile Magazine EarPhones award winner and was nominated by Audible as one of 12 finalists for Audiobook of the Year, among such august company as Stephen Fry and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Source: Narrator’s website