Missing on Ilkley Moor has been released! The third instalment of the ex-DCI Henry Ward series sees him investigating the disappearance of a missing child. And by doing so, he uncovers a wealthy family's dark secrets.
When a girl disappears, a retired cop makes it his mission to find her…
It’s a cold winter day when ex-DCI Henry Ward and his terrier Tessa come across a girl’s hat on Ilkley Moor. Not an uncommon find, but this one is covered in blood, and Henry immediately senses a child is in danger.
Meanwhile, local social media is buzzing about an eight-year-old girl gone missing from her well-to-do home that very morning. But it is only the babysitter who is convinced she has been taken.
The family themselves don’t seem concerned about her apparent absence. And the police are not willing to spare resources searching for a child who’s not been reported missing.
Shocked by her cool reaction to his find, Henry suspects the mother, Sofia, has something to hide, and decides to investigate.
The weather is turning, and the girl might still be up on the moor. Weighed down by an ominous feeling something is very wrong, Henry must get to the bottom of the mystery, and find the child before it’s too late.
MISSING ON ILKLEY MOOR is the third standalone mystery in this captivating series by Ric Brady. Look out for the first, MURDER ON A YORKSHIRE MOOR, and the second, BUTCHER ON THE MOOR.
I wrote this story at the beginning of the year, and the idea came to me unexpectedly. I’m from Addingham, which is next door to Ilkley, and the Cow and Calf rocks is the most famous sight in the area.
As I'm from the Ilkley area, I've noticed over the years that when I tell British people (of a certain age) where I’m from, they normally repeat the famous song at me: ‘On Ilkla Moor BahT'at’ (if you’ve never heard of it, here’s a link to a YouTube video).
My initial feelings were to avoid the Cow and Calf and Ilkley Moor as a setting for my crime novels, as I felt they were too well known. But my imagination had other ideas, and the bulk of the story takes place on those wild wet moorlands.
In this novel, Detective Ward gets involved with the investigation by chance and does his best to find the lost child, with DI Barnes and his neighbour, Jean Whitehead, helping him along the way.
Join me in this gripping and wild wide as Henry delves into the dark secrets on Ilkley Moor.
You can buy it now on Amazon.
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