Best friends Annie Francis and Mark Webster, aged 13, disappear on the way to the candy store. The search for them is disrupted by a snowstorm, so they’re not found for several days, in a shallow ditch with a trail of candy leading to it. DI Edgar Stephens thinks they were meant to be discovered earlier, but the snow prevented it.
The police find that Annie had written plays performed by younger children on a stage at the home of neighbor Brian Baxter. The early plays were innocuous, but by all accounts the latest is darker. Annie has shown an interest in the real German fairy tales with dark plot lines. Her newest play is called The Stolen Children.
Edgar’s friend Max Mephisto is performing in a pantomime in town, and through him, Edgar hears of a similar murder that took place in 1917. It seems an odd coincidence that some of the older pantomime performers were in town at the time. The murderer was caught and is dead, but could there be a connection?
Edgar gets a call from Daphne Young, a teacher who was helping Annie with her play, saying she’s discovered something. But she is also found murdered before he can talk to her.
I don’t seem to be getting as involved with the Brighton series, set in the 1950’s, as I have with Griffith’s Ruth Galloway or Harbinder Kauer books. However, I like the vaudeville theme and am willing to stick with it for a bit.
What? Me Read? 