One Of Our Ministers Is Missing: From the award-winning writer and former MP

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Lord Bellingham, a minister in the Foreign Office, has disappeared while hiking in Crete. Given the political sensitivities Louise is sent to Crete to liaise with the Greek Police, but nothing is as it seems. Lady Bellingham has no interest in talking to the police, the nanny is keeping secrets and the press were investigating Lord Bellingham. With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. This is the first book that I have read by this author and on finishing I immediately looked at his earlier books. This was a book that I enjoyed for its originality and its characters.

Under pressure from the powers that be, can Louise find the missing minister, or will she discover something much more sinister at play? Assistant Commissioner Louise Mangan of the Met Police is sent to assist in the investigation but soon discovers that there is more to this case than the local police realise. Lady Bellingham is less than forthcoming, and the family nanny has a secret she will do anything to keep hidden. Some of the characters are well developed, but others feel rather stereotyped - the obese and alcoholic journalist Christopher Finch, Brady the Belfast-born hitman, the naive Geordie nanny, Dimitri the restaurateur. And in the audio-book version, the narrator (Richard Attlee) rather ill-advisedly chooses affect each accent for the dialogue sections. It does help to delineate the characters but at times it feels a bit music hall. This is the first book that I have read by this author and on finishing I immediately looked at his earlier books. This was a book that I enjoyed for its originality and its characters. Since his retirement from front line politics, Alan Johnson has gone a considerable way towards acquiring ‘national treasure’ status, partially as a consequence of his memoirs, published in three volumes, which show a great triumph over considerable early adversity, and from his pragmatic and open approach, and his self-deprecating sense of humour.

One Of Our Ministers Is Missing

I didn’t read the first book in this series but I’ll be rectifying that now. This was an engaging read with a good plotline and an easy writing style. A good mix of police procedure and thriller involving a contract killer, a Lord of the Realm, an Assistant Commissioner of the Met and a Greek police officer. There are two distinct threads to this character driven book both in London and one of them in Crete.

The novel opens with Brady, who isn’t what he seems. He is in fact a professional hitman and his wife doesn’t have a clue about what he does. How will he fit into the main story of Lord Bellingham, redoubtable peer of the realm and – as it transpires – sleaze bag, who seems to have gone missing on the island of Crete? Then there is Bellingham’s glamorous wife on the island, settled in their house in Agia Galini, together with their nanny, who has been entertaining a local young man when the the Lord and Lady are out for the evening. The pace through the book was superb, unexpected reveals made with the suspense being kept on a high. On holiday in Crete, Lord Bellingham, a minister in the Foreign Office, goes missing whilst trekking in the White Mountains. There are few clues, only the minister’s mobile phone.On the one hand, this was something really addictive about it. The chapters were short, the plot had twists and was engaging. But, at the same time, it felt a bit muddled with time jumps (I have no idea if this book took place over the course of a week, month or several), the almost two-dimensional characters and the beats of the story. Our Government minister is Lord Bellingham and yes he goes missing whilst on a walk in rural Crete. The story twists more than his trek and you will be left breathless as if you were along for the walk; a walk made very pleasurable by great descriptive writing. Having read and enjoyed Alan’s previous book I was looking forward to reading this latest novel and I can report that I enjoyed it equally as much. I love his style of writing, he’s a great storyteller and the plots and characters are both interesting and entertaining. I did guess much of the the ending, however, that didn’t spoil the story. My only bug bear is that Alan tends to flip flop characters name, randomly using either the forename or surname, personally I would prefer consistency when referring to a character. I’m looking forward to reading more from Alan in the future. In short, as the title suggests, a minister goes missing on the island of Crete, this instigates the UK to send Assistant Commissioner Louise Mangan of the Met Police to assist in the investigation…which soon unravels into a lot more than a missing person! If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us

But there is another equally as important character in this novel, Brady. Seemingly a happily married man with a decent job who lives under the radar. But his real character is nothing like this. He is a killer preparing for his last job. I won’t reveal much more about his storyline because in some ways his character is the most fascinating in the book. He should have been a character I detested but there were aspects of him I appreciated and had sympathy for. The Girl on the Train with a dash of Russian poisoning and a classic femme fatale * Sunday Telegraph *

Customer reviews

Assistant Commissioner Louise Mangan of the Met Police is sent to assist in the investigation but soon discovers that there are more layers to this case than the local police realise. eProof and Audiobook gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction*** In London, assistant Met Commissioner, Louise Mangan is tasked with going to Crete – an island she knows very well – to liaise with the local police and help with the search for this important man. A nice, easy and fun mystery, but there's something about this that just didn't work for me. I think I kept getting muddled with the timeline. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: