I met this author, Marcy McCreary, at a writer’s conference, and the moment she told me the plot of her novel, The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon, I was hooked: Trudy Solomon, who disappeared without a trace in 1978, turns up in a memory care facility decades later. But suffering from early onset dementia, she can’t explain where she’s been all these years. Searching for answers, Detective Susan Ford teams up with her father, a retired police officer who investigated the original case and has long been haunted by the lack of answers.

The book is set in a former resort town in the Catskills, and all of the characters are connected to the once-glamorous Cuttman Hotel, where Trudy Solomon worked at the time of her disappearance. The mystery explores multiple cold cases (I don’t want to spoil too much), so you end up with numerous mysteries to solve for the price of one.

Among my favorite aspects of the book was the father-daughter sleuthing duo. Not only have I never seen a pairing like this before, but McCreary captures a relationship that is humorous and sweet without sentimentality. A subplot also explores Ford’s experiences with an officer-involved shooting and the subsequent investigation and community fallout. McCreary explores the different angles of this incident with nuance and empathy. Overall, I loved the voice, the plot, the setting, and the pacing of this mystery, so I would highly recommend it!

Reader Takeaway: I loved the exploration of the father-daughter relationship–from Susan and her father’s shared scars from the original disappearance, to their catharsis in working through the cold case. I’m glad to see there’s another Ford Family Mystery on the way.

Writer Takeaway: Dialogue and voice! McCreary shows how to write punchy, clever dialogue that moves the plot forward and brings her characters to life. It’s a great lesson in “show don’t tell” when it comes to characterization.