Missing (The Matt Spears Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Barry Crowther (Author)

Book Description

Revised Second Edition:

Debt collector Matt Spears isn't having a good day. He's being framed by the cops over an alleged assault and has inexplicably found himself indebted to the blind, but ruthless gangster, Vincent Barbour. When Barbour’s supposedly dead niece, Emma, surfaces in a graphic sexual video on a porn site, he asks Matt to find her in exchange for wiping the slate clean. Within a matter of hours, Matt is plunged into a world of sex, blackmail and murder. Trying to unravel the mysteries of a troubled young girl's disappearance, he discovers the dark side of the porn industry, complicated family secrets, government  corruption, sadistic gangsters, and narcissistic celebrities who all come together to find a girl who is simply ... missing.

The sequel to 'Missing' is 'As the Sun turns Black' also available at Amazon and other good book sellers.

BIO

Barry Crowther has made his home in San Clemente Southern California. Originally from Manchester England. He has had short stories published, this is his first novel on the eBook platform.

He continues to work and write on the follow up novel in the San Clemente sun with his three daughters, wife and chocolate lab Coney.

REVIEW

"Missing" is an amazing roller coaster ride! It kept me on my toes from the first page to the last! The more I read, the more entrenched I got in the intrigue of this tense murder mystery thriller. Rich in mystery, steeped in suspense, and laced with provocative sex, "Missing" is one read you don't want to miss!

Deb Blythe, Writer, GracieMag/Choke MMA

AUTHORS NOTE
Although I live in Southern California this novel is set in the North West of England, where I'm from - Manchester. I think it's fair to warn potential readers that although a lot of British phraseology is used, this is a gritty crime drama and is closer to the work of Quentin Tarantino than Agatha Christie. I don't want people to buy this and be left feeling disappointed because there wasn't enough foggy moors, country pubs or old jags ... you've been warned.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barry Crowther has made his home in San Clemente Southern California. Originally from Manchester England. He has had short stories published, this is his first novel on the eBook platform. He continues to work and write on the follow up novel in the San Clemente sun with his three daughters, wife and chocolate lab Coney.

Product Details

• File Size: 625 KB
• Print Length: 308 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1460961161
• Publisher: Createspace; Second Edition edition (February 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004OR1GA8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,467 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a Perfect Entry But Solid March 27, 2012

By Florian T. Boyce

Format:Kindle Edition

Barry Crowther joins the independent author fray with his crime/noir thriller piece, "Missing". The story is based around the character of Matt Spears, a streetwise hard-boiled soul that is looking for answers about the disappearance of a crime boss's niece.

THE GOOD
Missing is pulpy good fun. If you like reading mysteries and don't mind a little violence splashed in, there's something you can definitely pull from "Missing". Also, the e-mail that starts off the mystery was a unique concept that piqued my interest from the get-go.

THE NOT SO GOOD
The occasional spelling error is to be expected in independent publishing, and there's just enough of them here to be distracting to some readers depending on their own "grammatical tolerance". I didn't mind as much, but some other reviewers found this critical.

For me though, the major reason why I couldn't give this novel a 5-star review despite its story comes down to the characterization of the characters. After spending an entire book with Matt Spears, I understand 'why' he takes the case, but I don't get to 'know' the man. This is also a problem with secondary characters as well. Some just get labeled with a single tag (black, fat, big, tall) and that's pretty much what we have to go on. The audience has to fill in the blanks for their own benefit but sometimes this comes off as an overwhelming task.

All in all, "Missing" is a great way to spend an afternoon and I'm looking for "another episode" in the Matt Spears series, but there is room for improvement.

***I received a special complimentary review copy of this book.***

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A WELL WRITTEN OLD FASHION DETECTIVE STORY March 17, 2011

By Su Co

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book. It is well written; I get the feeling it was edited with a good sharp pencil. The author didn't cheat in getting to the mystery's solution (no new characters were brought in on the last page). What violence and sex there is, is mostly in the background and doesn't slow the plot down.

Although I read the author's bio, my first impression was that the story takes place in the USA and was written by an American author in the manner of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Mickey Spillane. When the sleuth goes to Manchester, I thought "Manchester, New Hampshire, USA" and I was wrong but it didn't hurt my view of the story.

My second impression was this was written by a Englishman due to the use of a lot of British slang. I am glad I set my default Kindle dictionary to the Oxford Dictionary of English rather than the New Oxford American Dictionary when reading British authors. It added a lot of color to the dialog, I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It turns out that the author is from Britain and lives in the USA.

While the characters may not be warm and fuzzy, they certainly are well drawn: quirky and interesting. The end took me by surprise.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read September 23, 2012

By Heather

Format:Kindle Edition

I am reviewing this book for receiving a free copy. I enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and kept me interested, although I did have a bit of trouble keeping up with some of the twists. Matt, the lead character, is faced with many issues among them searching for a missing girl and keeping his long term girlfriend. You can feel his frustration as he tries to deal with keeping the girlfriend but then has to investigate this disappearance. And he isn't even a PI! He is a debt collector. I recommend this book.

More About the Author

Barry Crowther has made his home in Southern California. Originally from Manchester England, he has several novellas, novels and short stories published. He has been named as one of the most popular indie authors of 2012 and became the final Indie Author Rock Star in 2011. His Matt Spears series has hit bestseller lists in various genres and he is also the author of the Zero Quartet and the Alex Campbell novels 'Killing Flow'.

His only Non-Fiction published is his treatise on improving your Jiu Jitsu game when you are over 40, it is published under the pen name Oliver S Staark and titled Zen Jiu Jitsu.

Crowther continues to work and write in the Southern Californian sun with his three daughters, wife and chocolate lab Coney.

His blog is updated (almost) weekly and covers, thoughts, observations and musings on life and the changing landscape of the publishing industry. You can find it at http://barrycrowther.com

REVIEW

"Missing" by Barry Crowther is a really good fast-paced mystery. This book was a quick read with the action constantly moving. I completely enjoyed the characters, specifically the interaction between the main character, Matt, and his best friend, Nathaniel. The interaction is enjoyable, funny and shows how close they are to each other. I also enjoyed the character building of the "bad guys", along with the twists and turns of the story. I love Matt's "secretary" Trudy and felt like they were the type of people that I would want to know.

The writing style somewhat reminds me a lot of Robert Parker but in an English writing way. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good mystery that has good character interaction.

AUTHORS NOTE
Although I live in Southern California most of my novels are set in the North West of England, where I'm from - Manchester. I think it's fair to warn potential readers that a lot of British phraseology is used, and this is a gritty crime drama much closer to the work of Quentin Tarantino than Agatha Christie. I don't want people to buy my books and be left feeling disappointed because there wasn't enough foggy moors, country pubs or old jags ... you've been warned.