All That Remains is the first book in the Missing & Exploited series featuring Detective Harvey Sam. When eight-year-old Gabriel Wheeler is abducted during his school's Christmas production, the case affects Harvey deeply. Not only did his non-biological daughter, Effie, attend the same school, but she was also taken away from him that night. Harvey's partner, the girl's mother, left him and moved to the other side of the country. On top of that, Harvey has to deal with Gabriel's mother, an addict and prostitute, who firstly failed to report her son missing and then publicly shames Harvey when the police fail to find any clue of Gabriel's whereabouts.
This isn't a whodunit mystery, as the abductor is introduced early on and the reader is aware of the motive through the kidnapper's perspective. It is very much a character-driven psychological suspense story, as the reader delves into the lives of all those linked to the disappearance of Gabriel. Although dark and heartbreaking in parts, it was also very moving and uplifting to see Gabriel portrayed as such an extremely resilient little boy. The other characters were also very interesting, flawed, but very believable.
When I read the previous edition of this book last year, I kept wondering why there was such a focus on certain characters. Having now read the second book, Strange Lineup, I appreciate this a lot more and have to say I'm really impressed with Hannah Holborn's clever plotting. This novel works a standalone, there are no cliffhangers, but several of the characters reappear in the sequel, which I would also highly recommend.
Very captivating and a bit different from the usual detective stories, I would recommend this to anybody who enjoys well-plotted psychological suspense with meticulously crafted characters.
Many thanks to Hannah Holborn for providing me with a free copy. ( )