Book Description:
How can someone just disappear?
Step inside a real-life, missing person investigation in this compelling, true crime must-read.
Uncover what happened to missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, as David Videcette takes you on a quest to unpick her mysterious disappearance and scrutinise the shadowy ‘Mr Kipper’.
One overcast Monday in July 1986, 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanished whilst showing a smart London property to a mysterious ‘Mr Kipper’.
Despite the baffling case dominating the news and one of the largest missing persons cases ever mounted, police failed to find a shred of evidence establishing what had happened to her.
Sixteen years later, following a second investigation and under pressure from Suzy’s desperate parents, police named convicted rapist and murderer John Cannan as their prime suspect. However, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to charge him, citing a lack of evidence.
Despite several high-profile searches, Suzy’s body was never found. The trail that might lead investigators to her, long since lost.
Haunted by another missing person case, investigator and former Scotland Yard detective, David Videcette, has spent five years painstakingly reinvestigating Suzy’s cold case disappearance.
Through a series of incredible new witness interviews and fresh groundbreaking analysis, he uncovers piece by piece what happened to Suzy and why the case was never solved.
People don’t just disappear…
My Thoughts:
I vaguely remember the case of Suzy Lamplugh although I was only twelve at the time of her disappearance but seem to recall seeing things on the news in previous years since then. Being a lover of true crime books, I was definitely intrigued to know more. More so due to the author’s own background in the force, I couldn’t imagine anyone better to investigate the case and having written fiction novels under his belt also, the fact that he had written the book himself held a great appeal also.
One of the things I can struggle with, with non fiction books is that the writing really needs to grab me. Sometimes in true crime books especially, you can get drowned with facts etc that make me start to lose focus. The way this book is written though, the author has made it every bit as compelling as a fiction novel and I was hooked as soon as I picked it up.
The chapters flick between different time frames of how long Suzy has been missing. The author goes into detail of the day that Suzy disappears as well as the police investigation at the time. A lot of it focuses on present day with David and his ongoing investigation along with Caroline who is helping him in his quest. It shows a great deal of determination from the pair and how passionate they are in discovering the truth.
Finding Suzy gives the reader a closer look into this unsolved case. As with cases such as these, there were things missed by police or things that should and could have been done differently and I could feel David and Caroline’s frustrations at some of the things they were uncovering as well as a few of their interviews with witnesses. As a parent, to have a child go missing, regardless of age, the never knowing of what happened must be absolutely awful for the family left behind. I thought that David wrote this book quite sensitively towards Suzy’s family and whilst there are no concrete answers as to Suzy’s disappearance, I think the author has proven a good account of what more than likely did happen on that fateful day. This is certainly one of the best true crime books I have read and is a must read for anyone who enjoys this genre of book.
My thanks to the author for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
Finding Suzy in paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993426379
Finding Suzy on Kindle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0999M1FJ4
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