The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney

This is the first novel I've read that involves Gypsies and a travelling lifestyle; I found it fascinating to learn more. The story is a standard detective story; nothing strange here. A young wife gone missing from an unhappy marriage, a family closes ranks, lots of secrets and a private detective with sadness of his own. So far so same. But the family with secrets is a Gypsy family and the detective is a Gypsy, too, although a 'settled' one.

There are many novels telling stories in more than one voice around at present, and this is one of them. This tale is told by Ray Lovell, the detective, and JJ Smith, the 15 year old grandson of the Gypsy family patriarch, Tene Jenko. Ray has been hired by Leon Wood, a 'settled' Gypsy, who wants Ray to find his daughter Rose, who married into the travelling Jenko family and disappeared a year later, some 6 years ago. The Jenko family say she ran away with a lover; her father fears that she might be dead. Ray meets silence and secrets, with an ending to the story that rivals an Agatha Christie tale.

We learn a little about Ray's back story, (he's more than a bit obsessed by his ex-wife) and watch as he develops new feelings for one of the players in his investigations. JJ becomes a fascinating character in the story; he's an brave innocent to Ray's worldweary outlook on life and the pair become unlikely allies.

Definitely for lovers of detective stories. See if you can spot the ending before the last couple of pages!

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