Many are not whole: The Broken Afternoon (Simon Mason)

The Broken Afternoon is the second in Mason’s series that features two unrelated detectives who share the same last name; they are the well put together, privately educated Ray and the trailer park raised Ryan. Ray is by the book while Ryan has problems with rules and authority.

I very much enjoyed the first book in this series which was titled A Killing in November. Nonetheless, I was slow to read this novel because I knew that the subject matter was troubling.

TRIGGER WARNING: A four year old child is abducted.

This book had a number of twists that kept me guessing. The biggest takeaway was the ways in which it left me thinking about parents and children. How children are treated clearly impacts them. How parents view their responsibilities and obligations is another challenge.

Readers see how Ryan interacts with his son who clearly means the world to him. Ray’s wife is pregnant with twins. He is not fully available to Diane in a difficult pregnancy; does this presage anything about how he will parent his children? A character named Fothergill and his son Jack also come into play. In addition the reader can think of Ryan’s (abusive) father, the experience in foster care for some of the characters, the expectations that Ray’s father puts on him and more.

Do not go into this book expecting a light read. However Mason does a very good job in telling his story. While painful, I do not regret reading this one.

Have you read this book? If so, I would love to know what you thought.