I have read many novels by Nicci French over the years, including the reliably excellent Frieda Klein series. They are dependable, plot-driven page turners, filled with the usual narrative twists and turns that the genre demands and with more or less believable characters. The latest standalone story, Has anyone seen Charlotte Salter?, checks all those boxes. A woman goes missing on the evening of her husband’s fiftieth birthday party, leaving behind her stunned and bewildered children. Thirty years pass without any trace of her. No body, no sightings. Just the mystery of her sudden, inexplicable disappearance and the hole it left in the lives of those who loved her. No plot spoilers here …

There is no way to deny the authors’ mastery of the genre. Years of experience are visible on every page. Having said that, my interest in the plot and characters started to flag at one point, and it took the introduction of a new character two-thirds of the way into the novel to revive it. Even then I turned the final page feeling that the denouement was rushed and unconvincing. An enjoyable, workmanlike performance from Nicci French, but not a classic.