The flawed detective has at this point become a staple ingredient of police procedurals. From Colin Dexter’s Morse to Henning Mankell’s Wallander, we have all become accustomed to the clever sleuth whose personal life is a mess. DS Manon Bradshaw is squarely in that tradition. As Missing, Presumed opens, we find her on her latest Internet date with yet another comically unsuitable man. Just beneath Manon’s growing disillusionment with men and life in general lies a suspicion she can’t quite shift that she would be better off alone or that some character flaw makes her unsuited to a lasting relationship.

At work in the Cambridgeshire police service, things are somewhat different for Manon. She might lack flair, but she has doggedness and determination, and whatever world weariness might have blighted her personal life hasn’t yet spoiled her appetite for the job. The job on this occasion is finding out what has happened to a Ph.D student who goes missing from her home without explanation. A complicated love life and a privileged background add spice to what might otherwise have been an unremarkable missing persons case.

As is so often the case with this genre, the real fun lies less in the plot than it does in the characterization. I’m already looking forward to seeing what happens next wtih Manon Bradshwaw.