Loving Manon Bradshaw

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑  What is it that makes the DS Manon Bradshaw series such good drama? Quite a lot, actually. This is the third book containing our brutally honest heroine and the quality is as exceptional as ever. In Manon we have a woman struggling to balance the demands of work and home life with a toddler, a teenager and an ailing partner. Working part time in cold cases has helped to keep her head above water but that changes when she finds an Eastern European migrant worker hanging in a tree dead. Back in the middle of the action as SIO investigating the death is her role going forward, much to her delight.

Manon is a wholly unvarnished, completely flappable, slightly overweight woman in her mid forties who misses the better days of her past when she was unencumbered and didn't feel the onset of old age every time she climbs out of bed in the morning. We, as the reader, have access to her every worry and thought. Flattering? Not in the least but it is honest and purely Manon. She can be a bit gobby and bossy, too, and is as close to a real flawed person as you are likely to meet in a work of fiction. I love her dearly. I can relate with the issues she is dealing with on a personal level and adore her on again/off again views of the world that change with the weather, circumstance and hormones as well.

These books are worth reading solely for her but that isn't all that's gold. In this outing we take a deep dive into the trafficking of Eastern European migrant workers. This is a horrible industry that needs cleaning up pronto as it's on par with inhumanities China perpetrates regularly. I have not thought migrant workers could be treated so badly and kept as indentured servants living and working in such awful conditions. It's painful, heart-wrenching stuff. Seeing the state of the world through the eyes of migrant workers is a real eye opener that adds to the depth of realism this book exudes. Not only is the story strong, the personal development of the main characters is pitch perfect in its detail and fine tuning. There is much here to appreciate as this series goes from strength to strength giving readers a novel we can invest in emotionally.