The Taken Girls by G.D. Sanders | @AvonBooksUK | #blogtour #extract #TheTakenGirls

Happy Friday and welcome to my final blog tour of the year! My thanks to Sabah at Avon UK for the invitation to join. Today, I’m sharing with you all an extract from The Taken Girls by G.D. Sanders. First, let’s see what this book is all about!

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

Someone is watching them…

When a missing teenage girl reappears unharmed but pregnant, the case falls to DI Edina Ogborne, the newest recruit of Canterbury Police. But Ed’s already got her hands full with a team who don’t want her, an ex who won’t quit, and terrible guilt over a secret from her past.

As Ed investigates the case, she discovers Canterbury has seen this crime not once, but several times before. And when Ed and her detectives encounter missing historic police files, falsified school records, and Ed’s new lover as a prime suspect, it becomes clear that the system has been corrupted.

Can Ed find the kidnapper behind these depraved crimes before he strikes again? Or has time already run out?

| EXTRACT |

A short woman of about the same age appeared at the man’s shoulder. Her clothes were crumpled and there were streaks of mascara beneath tired eyes, which looked questioningly at the two policewomen.

‘Mrs Naylor, Mr Naylor, I’m Detective Constable Eastham. You may remember I was here last night. This is Detective Sergeant Ogborne. Perhaps we could go somewhere to talk?’

Mr Naylor turned to his wife. ‘I’ll take the officers into the front. Perhaps you could bring the tea through.’

They had barely sat down before Mrs Naylor reappeared with a tray. The detectives both declined the proffered tea and biscuits. Lucy’s parents looked expectantly at Jenny. Ed coughed and spoke.

‘As Jenny said, I’m Detective Sergeant Ed Ogborne. I wasn’t here last night. Let me begin by offering our sympathy for what you must be feeling at this time. There’s nothing we can say to take away the pain and anxiety but we’ll be doing everything we can to find your daughter as quickly as possible and to bring her safely home.’

Mrs Naylor, who had been sitting rigidly in the corner of the sofa with her hands clenched in her lap, could contain herself no longer. Her shoulders sagged. ‘There’s no news then? You haven’t found her? You’ve no clues as to where she is? You don’t know who’s taken our Lucy?’

‘Mrs Naylor, I know it’s difficult but it is early days. We have teams of officers going house to house questioning everybody in the area in case they saw something that might help. We’re here to speak with you and then we’ll talk to the Shaxteds.’

Mr Naylor reached for his wife’s hand and turned towards Ed. ‘What more do you want? We spoke to your colleague last night. We’d rather you were out looking for Lucy.’

Oooh! What happened to Lucy? Will they find her before it’s too late? If you can’t wait to find out, why not grab yourself a copy of The Taken Girls right now!

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| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

On leaving his academic post, Geoff Sanders switched from writing evidence-based research articles to imagination-based contemporary crime fiction. 

He grew up in Kent and studied at three London colleges to complete bachelor degrees in science and a PhD. He would wind down by playing drums in jazz and blues bands. After a few years in Italy, he embarked on a full-time academic career in London. His submission for a popular science book was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Prize. 

Now, writing as G.D. Sanders, he is the author of dark-hearted contemporary crime novels featuring a bright, but impetuous, female detective, DI Ed (Edina) Ogborne and her CID team in Canterbury Kent. His debut, The Taken Girls, is the first in a planned series featuring Ed Ogborne. The Chosen Ones, the second novel in this series, will be published on 27 June 2019. 

Geoff Sanders lives in southwest London. You can follow him on Twitter @GDSandersAuthor.