Should you write a review without the book right in front of you? Perhaps. Perhaps, having read the book at some speed, the truth should be there without it. There but not there, embedded but fading. Truth is a slippery subject with this book. The author is like a storm chaser, but at least half the weather is inside his head. And what a dark horizon mind this is –– obsessed with monsters, followed by shadows and sadness. There is some appalling personal history mixed with troublesome personal tics. Meanwhile, the missing Maura Murray is little more than a persistent ghost, an enigmatic source of charged rumours, stories, and speculation. Vanishings are always fascinating, but Maura's plays out on a distinctly noir-cinema level. She is the black heart of this thing, yet missing. What kind of ending could this give us? What kind of ending could you possibly want? #truecrimeaddict #jamesrenner #cottagereading #murraycorner