Dead Weight: Severn House Publishers

When a powerful British MP calls on the police to find his son’s missing nurse, DCI Neil Paget takes on a puzzling case that may not even involve a crime.

Member of Parliament Stephen Lorrimer and his wife Julia were at their wit’s end trying to care for their son Michael, who is nearly blind and cannot speak. Then they found Justine Delgado. As Michael’s live-in nurse, Justine bonded with him in a way his parents never could. But now Justine has suddenly vanished, and Michael is inconsolable.

Julia is quick to report the girl’s failure to return after leaving the house for Sunday service. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Paget and his team try to piece together Justine’s movements, but find no evidence of criminal activity. While her disappearance is alarming, and a request from an MP can never be taken lightly, Paget and his team begin to wonder if they have a case at all. Then a bit of luck and a detective’s intuition uncovers a lead no one expected . . .

“A brisk and unusual puzzler.” —Kirkus Reviews