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

Product Information

Is there no limit to his talents? . . . I absolutely loved Alan's new thriller, it's brilliant.' Hunter Davies Johnson’s own ministerial career included a brief stint as home Secretary, and he clearly draws on insights culled from those days in his portrayal of the working relationships (and especially the jealousies and resentments) between officers in the top echelons of the metropolitan Police Service. 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. 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. Lord Bellingham is an easy character to dislike as is his wife so when we meet Louise Mangan, a met officer sent in to assist in the investigation into our missing minister, I was on her side straight away and as she mimics a police officer version of Shirley Valentine the love angle of the story appears.

It took a couple of chapters for this romp to gather momentum but once it got up steam it was full speed ahead for this pleasing and very twisting cosy thriller. 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. 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. 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. 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.On holiday in Crete, Lord Bellingham had been solo trekking in the White Mountains when he mysteriously disappeared. After a vast search and rescue operation, the local police have no leads, save for a mobile phone discarded on a cliff edge. 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. 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.

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! The Girl on the Train with a dash of Russian poisoning and a classic femme fatale * Sunday Telegraph * 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 local police in the isolated island of Crete have no leads, save for a mobile phone discarded on a cliff edge. Under pressure from the powers that be, can Louise find the missing minister, or will she discover something much more sinister at play? My Review

Summary

Louise was a character I liked a lot. I appreciated the small glimpse of her personal life where you see her missing her daughters, her marriage break up and her singing along to Joni Mitchell whilst home alone. I also liked seeing her fear of retirement from the job she loved. She seemed honest, in her feelings for the friends she made in Crete and her frustration at working from behind a desk instead of detective work. 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: Alan Johnson is an engaging writer who knows how to develop characters and keep relationships lively as he builds his mystery storylines. One of Our Ministers is Missing is partly set on the beautiful island of Crete where a Peer of the Realm, property developer and Junior Minister at the FCO, Lord Bellingham has a holiday home. A keen walker, he disappeared on one of his regular hikes into the White Mountains leaving his wife Miranda and his children distraught.

This is a complex mystery that is well told. The setting in particular, London and Crete, feel well drawn and convincing. The reader feels the heat of the Greek sunshine and the breeze through the mountains, hears the lap of the waves contrasting with the bustle and diverse languages on the streets of Stoke Newington. As one would expect in a novel written by a former Home Secretary, there is plenty of high level politics and diplomacy, but this never detracts from the more mundane police procedural work at play. About the Author: Alan Johnson’s childhood memoir THIS BOY was published in 2013. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award. His second volume of memoirs, PLEASE MR POSTMAN (2014) won the National Book Club award for Best Biography. The final book in his memoir trilogy, THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD (2016), won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir. IN MY LIFE – A MUSIC MEMOIR was published in 2018 and his highly acclaimed first novel, THE LATE TRAIN TO GIPSY HILL was published in 2021. Alan was a Labour MP for 20 years before retiring ahead of the 2017 general election. He served in five cabinet positions in the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including Education Secretary, Health Secretary and Home Secretary. He and his wife Carolyn live in East Yorkshire.I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for a review copy of One of our Ministers Is Missing, the second novel to feature AC Louise Mangan of the Met. Under pressure from the powers that be, can Louise find the missing minister, or will she discover something much more sinister at play?