Before It’s Too Late by Jane Isaac

I was really pleased to receive an advance copy of Jane Isaac’s new novel from the publisher. I had read her previous two novels, both of which feature the detective Helen Lavery but this new book follows a different detective and takes place in Stratford upon Avon.
Min, a Chinese student is kidnapped and her part of the tale is narrated in the first person. I think that this made her terror much more real when she is describing the situation that she is in. She often thinks about her life with her parents back in China and her boyfriend who she had argued with recently.

I really liked Will Jackman, this new detective. As with the previous novels his personal life features. The situation which his wife is in and how both Will and his daughter have to cope with it. This doesn’t take over the main storyline though, with Will desperately trying to find Min, trying to get help from her family back in China and from the close knit Chinese community in Birmingham.
I hope that Will and his team feature in further novels. I liked the characters and the camaraderie between them.