Missing Boy

When Candice Fox opened up GONE BY MIDNIGHT with a missing child and a sick goose I wasn't sure if I could go on. I mean a missing child is one thing, but a sick, possibly life-threateningly ill goose felt like one blow too many. (Don't @ me - they are both fictional and I'm very fond of my geese...).

If for any reason any of this is worrying any other readers then I would counsel trust this author, read on. Read on through the bullying stand over cops who arrive and take Ted Conkaffey into custody (arrest of choice with anything to do with kids it seems); through to his, and Amanda Pharrell's arrival at the crime scene; their inclusion in the search for the missing boy, much to the annoyance of the local top cop; their confrontation show more with a very angry policewoman out for revenge (you'll have to have read REDEMPTION POINT to get the full story); right through Conkaffey's much anticipated access visit with his young daughter; Pharrell's friendship with local bikies; and on to the point where you find yourself in a croc sanctuary and a swamp.

The third book in the "Crimson Lake" series, there's something glorious, addictive, clever and mesmerising about the way that Fox weaves a tale around the most oddly likeable of characters - Conkaffey, ex-cop, recently cleared potential child abductor and assaulter, father of a patrol of geese, a dog and a much loved young daughter; and Pharrell, ex-con, tried and convicted killer, private detective, cat lover, odder than an odd thing on an odd things night out; both of these people are real, genuine and immensely likeable - in a peculiar sort of way, because goodness knows there are times when they seem to not like each other all that much. The tale in this instance is the vanishing of a young boy, part of a group of friends / families all holidaying together - the kids playing together, locked in a hotel room, being checked on every hour by the parents, while they are downstairs in the restaurant having dinner, letting their hair down a bit.

The balance in these novels between the threat, the absurd, the investigation and the day-to-day is always elegantly maintained, and so it is in GONE BY MIDNIGHT. As Conkaffey balances the first visit of his young daughter, with the urgency of the need to search for the missing boy, there's moves, finally, to repair his relationship with his ex-wife, a relationship destroyed by the missing child case that saw him drummed out of the police force and hiding out in Far North Queensland in the first place. It's also a chance for Pharrell to establish the oddest of relationships with a local bikie group, and again, the reader is given plenty of opportunity to see the damage that was inflicted by the case that saw her end up in jail. It will help a lot if you've read both the previous books in this series (CRIMSON LAKE and REDEMPTION POINT) as the back-story arc here is pretty vital, and whilst Fox plays fair with potential new readers, there is much to the reasons why Conkaffey and Pharrell are what they are, and do what they do, that should be clearly understood.

GONE BY MIDNIGHT is flat out good, and if you've not read the earlier books, then you're in for a treat. Fox is a dab hand at this crime writing gig, in the opinion of this humble reader, one of the best we've ever produced.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/gone-midnight-candice-fox show less

Note: Some spoilers for previous books in the series.

This is the third book in the “Crimson Lake” book series.

Ted Conkaffey, divorced after eight years and a former cop in Sydney, having served five years a drug squad detective. He has recently relocated to Crimson Lake outside of Cairns in Queenslands. He went to that remote spot in an attempt at anonymity after being released from an eight-month stint in prison for the rape and murder of 13-year-old Claire Bingley. Ted had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but couldn’t prove his innocence. Nor, however, could the court prove his guilt, and the charge had been rendered as “no billing.” But while the Office of Public Prosecutions couldn’t find enough evidence to show more convict Ted, the public needed no such proof; he was guilty in their eyes. As soon as people found out who he was, he was reviled as a violent pedophile. As Ted mused, “When an accusation like that comes into your life, it never leaves.”

In Crimson Lake, Ted has been working as a private investigator with Amanda Pharrell for the past year. Amanda had served eight years in prison for stabbing a seventeen-year-old schoolmate to death. As Ted explains, and as we learned in the first book, it was done in self-defense, but “like my crime hers was a one-way ticket out of the ‘normal’ world.” It is hard, Ted muses, “to turn the great ship of public opinion around.” Most people believe that if you were accused, you can’t be totally innocent, even if you didn’t do what you were accused of.

In the previous book, the actual killer of Claire Bingley was found, but unfortunately executed much to Ted’s chagrin, since he wanted to be publicly exonerated. No matter: as Amanda points out, it’s just “The Life” now - i.e., life after having been shamed in the public eye. “It meant accepting, even anticipating, hatred from other human beings, perhaps forever.”

In this book, Ted and Amanda have been hired to help find a missing 8-year-old boy, but as usual, their involvement creates complications. The police consider both of them vile criminals and hate them. In particular, Amanda is the target of venom by Joanna Fischer, the former partner of DI Pip Sweeney, who was gunned down in the previous book while trying to rescue Amanda. Amanda turns for help to her biker friends, known criminals who nevertheless have, albeit reluctantly, “adopted” Amanda. Amanda told the head of the group, Bruce, that Ted was worried about her hanging out with them. Bruce responded, in a great summary of one of the themes of this series:

“I don’t know why he worries about us. Bad people are predictable. We’ll always do the wrong thing. It’s easier. It’s faster. Cops and heroes - those are the ones you have to worry about. The temptation is always there to cross over, to cut corners, to break the rules. Good people are always treading water, trying not to drown. Bottom-dwellers like us have gills.”

Ted is also unusually challenged. In the first place, he finally is having a visit by his daughter Lillian, almost 3, when they get assigned this case. He needs help looking after Lillian because he can’t ignore that a child has gone missing. In the second place, he may have begun a relationship with the local veterinarian, Dr. Elaine (“Laney”) Bass, but she doesn’t know (yet) about his past, and he is afraid to tell he because he doesn’t want to lose her.

Tension escalates as the various crimes are solved, with both Ted and Amanda and even Lillian getting into grave danger.

Evaluation: As in the other books in this series, we track the development of several stories that coalesce neatly in the end. It was not difficult to follow them, and it was rewarding to learn how they were connected. Ted and Amanda are great characters. I hope the author decides to continue with the series. show less

We're back in Crimson Lake with the Crocs, snakes and the mossies big enough to pick you up and take you away if they ever team up.
The reverberations from the last case, Redemption Point, are still being felt. Amanda and Ted are still the most hated people in Crimson Point. This makes things just a little complicated when they are asked to assist the family of a boy who has disappeared from his hotel room. Four young boys are left to amuse themselves in one families room while the parents are in the restaurant downstairs. When Sara does her final hourly check at midnight only three boys are there. Where is her son? Note trusting the local police Sara appoints Ted and Amanda to help find him.

Things are complicated enough for Ted when show more this case arrives. He has finally managed to repair his relationship with his wife Kelly who has allowed him to spend the week with his young three year old daughter. The timing could not be worse.

The story is primarily told through the eyes of Ted and Amanda. Amanda is the loose canon in this story. Her personality fisses and sparks throughout. Setting off unexpected and unwelcome reactions. Ted is conflicted with wanting to help the family find their missing son at the same time not stuffing up his opportunity to look after his daughter.

Candice Fox is excellent with the pacing of this story. It's exhausting for the reader to have nothing but fast action when the tension is racked high all the time. She allows both Ted and Amanda to have quiet reflective times so that when the action does ratchet up it actually has more impact. The characters are believable and more importantly the secondary characters are well defined and play an integral part in the story. They are not just plonked there to keep the plot rolling along.

Who done it? How did it happen? I didn't pick it until it was right in front of me. Hell of a twist

I highly recommend the entire series. You will need to read them in order as their are spoilers for previous books in the later ones. show less

Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox is a highly recommended investigative thriller and the third book in the Queensland series.

When Sara Farrow’s son, eight-year-old Richie, goes missing from the motel where they are staying while on vacation in Crimson Lake, Queensland, in Australian, she asks for help from private investigators Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell. Ted and Amanda are an unlikely pair of investigators as Ted is a disgraced cop and Amanda is a convicted killer. Both are pariahs in Crimson Lake, but together they are successful investigators. Amanda is immediately intrigued and begins using her unique perspective to gain insight on the case. Ted is also looking into the case, but has other complications. This is the first show more time his daughter, two-year-old Lillian, is staying with him for a week. He wants to find Richie, but he needs to establish a relationship with Lillian.

Ted and Amanda are simply put, great characters. They are wildly unique, flawed, astute, quirky, and complement each other's style perfectly. They are both damaged in different ways, but wonderfully human. Their relationship and the varied animosity from the police toward them create a hostility right at the start and it doesn't ease up. All the other characters are portrayed as unique individuals too.

The writing was excellent. Fox does a skillful job with the pacing of the plot and keeping the tension mounting in the narrative. There are twists and unexpected complications along the way. Between Ted's personal juggling of his life, the personal vendetta against Amanda, the search for the missing boy, and the strained interactions with the local police, the stress and intrigue keep increasing incrementally throughout this compelling novel.

I was unsure about starting the series with book three, but I had no problem following along and am anxious to read the first two books now. Now that I have discovered them, I'll be looking for future Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell novels.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Macmillian.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/03/gone-by-midnight.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3223196114 show less

I enjoyed this book much more than Redemption Point, the previous entry in the series. One thing Fox does well is to ratchet up the tension and then resolve it. Several times while reading [b:Gone by Midnight|41087327|Gone by Midnight|Candice Fox|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545001701l/41087327._SY75_.jpg|64196421] I found myself thinking "That's it! I don't need this much stress in my life. I'll finish this book, but no more." And then she gets Ted or Amanda (or Lily in this book) out of whatever disastrous corner they've been boxed into, and all is well.

It's not as if you can just shrug and say to yourself, "It's a series. They need Ted and Amanda for the next book, so it has to work out." show more Terrible things have happened, and keep happening, to both of them. It's just a question of HOW bad the misery will be. And she showed us in Redemption Point that she is capable of doing away with a character we have let ourselves become attached to. So we can't assume that harm will not come to Lily.

I also like the fact that the stories seem to be transitioning away from Ted's (and Amanda's) past, and toward solving new crimes that come their way. I will definitely be ready to see in the next book how the War Between The Bikers and The Cops plays out! show less

I’ve probably read way more mystery and suspense novels already in 2020 than I read in the last three years combined. So I’m sure no one’s surprised that I’m reviewing yet another. Thankfully, while many I’m the genre have let me down, Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox did not!

My Thoughts on Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox:
I absolutely loved this book!!! So much so that even in self-quarantine with 3 toddlers, a 4-year-old, a 20-year-old, and a husband, it took me less than 24 hours to read it.

Gone by Midnight is book 3 in the Crimson Lake series by Candice Fox. It follows private investigators Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell as they try to solve a missing child case. The child disappeared without a trace from a hotel room show more there was no way to escape from. The plot had a very Agatha Christie kinda vibe to me. Since I’m a Christie fan, that’s a huge compliment!

Ted and Amanda are both ostracized by just about everyone due to their pasts. Amanda accidentally murdered her best friend as a teen while trying to escape a rapist, and Ted was wrongfully accused of a crime so heinous he lost everything – his wife, kid, job… Basically his entire life. So no one is happy when the mother of the missing child hires Ted and Amanda to help find her son.

I thought Amanda was hilarious and she and I could definitely hang out, even though I’d probably be ostracized by just about everyone else except for Ted. But that’d be okay with me.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series yet, but I’ll definitely be going back and reading them now! I was a little aggravated with the seemingly pointless info-dumping at times, but I’m assuming it was done to update on what happened in the previous books, but most of it didn’t really move the story along. So the book got 4 instead of 5 stars from me for that.

**Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for the review copy. This did not affect my opinions in my review.* show less

Sehr zum Missfallen der örtlichen Polizei bittet eine verzweifelte Mutter Ted um Hilfe bei der Suche nach ihrem Sohn. Der achtjährige Junge ist auf unerklärliche Weise aus einem Hotelzimmer verschwunden. Gemeinsam mit seiner Chefin Amanda macht Ted sich auf die Suche - und so ganz nebenbei gibt es noch völlig andere Probleme zu lösen. Denn unter anderem ist Amanda in den Fokus einer rachsüchtigen Polizistin geraten.
Vergleicht man die Handlung des Buches mit der Spannung, die sie erzeugt, bleibt erstere bemerkenswert unspektakulär. Blut fließt vergleichsweise wenig und auch gewalttätige Szenen sind eher rar gesät. Die Suche nach dem Jungen ist intensiv und durchaus packend, doch bemerkenswerter ist die stets angespannte show more Atmosphäre, in der die beiden Ermittler sich bewegen. Es ist kaum vorstellbar, wie die Beiden in einem solch feindlichen Umfeld leben geschweige denn arbeiten können.
Wie bereits in den beiden Vorgängerbänden (die man für diesen Band nicht gelesen haben muss) macht es den beiden Privatdetektiven ihre Aussenseiterstellung äußerst schwer, ihre Arbeit durchzuführen. Und ebenso zeigt sich wieder, wie schnell das Leben von Menschen durch Vorverurteilungen zerstört werden kann. Ein kleiner Verdacht genügt, und die Meute stürzt sich mit Begierde darauf, das Opfer zu zerreißen.
Auch wenn der Titel die Geschichte des vermissten Jungen in den Mittelpunkt stellt, empfand ich sie eher als eine von mehreren gleichrangigen Handlungen. Denn ohne das Privatleben von Amanda und Ted wäre es wohl nur eine durchschnittliche Geschichte um die Suche nach einem vermissten Jungen, obwohl die Auflösung wirklich überrascht. So aber ist es alles in allem eine richtig gelungene Fortsetzung einer Thrillerreihe, bei der ich mich schon jetzt auf den nächsten Band freue. show less