A local fun run isn't supposed to be either frustrating or dangerous but for DI Clare Mackay, who is ready on the start line it suddenly becomes both. A peaceful protest preventing the beginning of the race is pushed to the side when a mother screams out in fear as she realises her baby has disappeared.

The second in what promises to be a very good series this is a brilliant book; a first class police procedural with no hyperbole, it follows the clues, taking small steps even though all concerned want to rush at everything, to find the baby. There are no spoilers but reading the two of them in order would give a better insight into the main protagonists and what makes them tick.

There are plenty of off duty interludes for Clare and my only criticism would be one of these didn't add anything to the storyline and could easily be cut and not missed. There are hints as to what will happen next in her private life which hopefully means there will be at least one more book to come and I will definitely be waiting for it.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys solid police procedural mysteries and those who have read the first book.

I had to give this book 5 stars the same as Marion’s first which I raced through!

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy of this book to review.

This is the second in a series, See Them Run being an outstanding debut. Saying that, you do not have to have read the first one but I would recommend you do if you enjoy this.

A young family with their baby are at the seaside waiting for a fun run event to begin. There is a lot of commotion with some protesters blocking the start and when the young mum looks down her baby girl has been taken from her pram.

DI Clare Mackay is waiting to start running along with her partner DS Chris West so are on hand to begin the investigation immediately. There is an added urgency about the case as the baby has a heart defect and will not live much longer than 48 hours without her medication.

So how do the parents, Lisa and Kevin afford to live in such a big house? He is a groundsman at a school and she works part time in a tanning salon. Neither are close to their parents and Lisa’s sister has an interesting past. What are they hiding?

And so begins a search for the baby which takes many avenues and twists and turns, and dips into the world of drug dealers

I really enjoyed this book, it was the first I've read by Marion Todd and I initially started it not realising it was the second book in a series, that being said it was enjoyable on it's own and I didn't feel lost having not read the first book.
I also loved that it was set in Scotland and the descriptions of places I'm familiar with.
I thought the premise was really interesting and hooked me in right away, but I'd say there were some pacing issues, the build up was quite slow and I felt the ending was a bit rushed.
I loved the characters Clare, Chris and Sara so I look forward to reading more about them on the next book hopefully.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for my Advanced Digital Copy in return for my honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this brilliant second book by marion todd...

an up and coming writer that weaves a spell around st andrews and the local community....

a fun run to raise money for charity is the start of this book and its not long before mischief is afoot....first there is the protesters who lie down on the start line and disrupts the race and then a cry goes up

a baby is missing...the family were there to see this brilliant day in and watching the fun run when their baby is snatched from their pram

luckily DI claire mckay is on hand and goes into mode and collects her force together for the hunt...but its not long before the person or persons unknown have absconded with the baby...how or why remains to be seen....

brilliant second book bringing back favourite characters in the hunt for the baby and as it progesses things are not adding up..people are lying to the police

the added factor in all this is that the baby has a heart defect and needs constant medicine daily...can the police find the baby before anything fatal happens....

another great debut book from marion todd who shows she has staying power, brilliant series and i cant wait to read the next book

This was an intriguing story about a stolen baby. Perhaps the crude language could have been dominated as it did nothing to help the mystery aspect of this book. Also, the use of the word “boss” was used too often and was distracting. That should have been edited out. However, that being said, the characters were interesting as they fought to find the baby. The ending was predictable albeit somewhat satisfying.

In Plain Sight – Marion Todd
This is the second in the Scottish Police Procedural series and based in and around the Dundee area featuring Detective Inspector Clare MacKay Detective Sargent Chris West and the rest of her team. I can honestly say that it's equally as good as the first See Them Run, in fact it may be slightly better. As always, I advise everyone to begin with the first book in this and any other Detective/Police series as I think that they are full of what I consider to be crucial information about the main protagonists and any sidekicks they may have and this is no different.
Right from the first pages we know it’s going to be something big and this time it’s what would be any parent's worst nightmare a child abduction, as if that wasn’t enough to deal with there was an environmental protest happening at the same time which obviously complicated matters. Kevin and Lisa are at a charity fun run and their baby is abducted, Abi has a congenital heart problem and needs vital medication (Digoxin) to keep her alive. What follows is a traumatic sequence of events, one after another does nothing to alleviate the parents worry. My heart went out to them as parents of a missing sick child but I found myself amused at Kevin’s naivety on how he and Lisa managed to buy and maintain the home and lifestyle they have. It wasn’t long though before the wee souls' eyes were well and truly opened.
In Plain Sight is a well written well thought out novel written from the main protagonists' point of view which I enjoyed as it meant we could follow exactly how her mind worked out some of the rather flimsy connections. The short snappy chapters and fast paced story are this bookworms dirty little secret, it allows me to do my usual and sneak in ‘just one more chapter’ right the way to the very last page.
This is a series that I will have no qualms about recommending this to all of my fellow bookworm friends, family and bloggers. In Plain Sight is an ideal read for fans of authors such as Patricia Gibney, Rachel Lynch and Carole Wyer,
Read for an honest review. Thank you, Ms Todd, Netgalley and Canelo

I loved the first book in this series so was super excited to read this one. What can I say it was fantastic and just as good as the first one. It had a great storyline and I loved all the characters. Definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait for the next in the series

I found this police procedural enjoyable but not terribly exciting. In spite of the fact that the plot centred around the abduction of a baby I thought it lacked tension especially when you consider the fact that little Abi has a life threatening medical condition. However I really liked several of the characters and would like to read more about them especially Clare, Chris and young journalist Lyall. In my opinion their personalities saved what could have been a humdrum, mundane story.

You have to feel a bit sorry for Clare Mackay here getting caught up in a missing child enquiry while still on leave. Add in that the child has a potentially fatal medical condition and it’s truly the stuff of nightmares. This is shaping up into a really good series now. I felt the author added enough of Clare’s personal life to round out her character but didn’t let it overshadow the enquiry. The addition of Lyall the young journalist worked surprisingly well and I would be happy to see him as a return character. This would work as a standalone read but as it’s only the second book so far it makes sense to read book one first.

In Plain Sight is the second book in a Scottish police procedural series by Marion Todd, featuring DI Clare Mackay in St Andrews.

Following the events from the first book, DI Mackay has apparently definitely left her old life in Glasgow behind. She got comfortable with her team, bought a cottage, and brought a dog in it. Relationships hinted at by the end of the first book have evolved, but this novel can be read as a standalone, as the author brings us up to speed on everything important. We even get to learn a bit more about Clare Mackay’s past.

Freshly back from a vacation in France, DI Mackay plans to spend the last day of her holiday participating in a charity run along the beach. However, before the race can start proper, screams from a woman in the public alert her to a new case. A baby has been kidnapped.

As the investigators learn the baby has a heart condition requiring constant medication, a new race against time begins for DI Mackay and her team.

Once again, Marion Todd leaves us no time to breathe. The investigation begins with the usual assumptions for a baby kidnapping, having the protagonists meet sad cases of child deprived mothers, before the investigation quickly starts making unexpected turn and twists. Shifty parents, relatives, and connections muddying the waters.

A new DCI is sent to oversee the case. It could have been DCI John Luther but, as he wasn’t available, DI Mackay, lacking luck in the DCI lottery, finds herself, and teams brought from all stations around, monitored by an useless tool. On top of this, in the name of better police-public relations, a young reporter is imposed upon her to shadow her every move. The latter, however, might prove to be a bit more useful.

This time around, it’s easier to guess what is going on in the personal lives of DI Mackay’s subordinates before her, than it is guessing what’s going on with the very complex case. The book, bringing us to the shadowy underbelly of fife, proves to be as much as a page turner than the first entry. Character development abounds, and I‘m eagerly waiting for the already planned sequel.

Thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

My review of book one, See Them Run, is available on GoodReads.

I did not read the first book in the Di Claire Mackey series, but I really enjoyed the second one, “In Plain Sight”. Having three kids of my own, a story of a missing child drew me in, tore at my heart, and had me turning the pages wondering how the story would end. Well written and easy to read, I can’t wait for the next one in the series to be released.

I don’t watch a lot of TV but when I do it is almost always British crime drama; Vera, Endeavour, Hinterlands, Unforgotten, Midsomer Murders, and when I digress it is to Professor T - you get the drift. “In Plain Sight” follows the formula and was a terrific crime drama that held my attention and kept me on the couch, kindle in hand until the last page was swiped.

Solid plot, interesting characters, tedious but necessary details with a few current affair situations tying everything together. I haven’t read the first in the series and while it might have been advantageous I had no trouble following the characters, plot and most of the backstory. I will definitely be on the lookout for any of Todd’s books that’s follow in the DI Clare McKay series.


This is a 4-1/2 star book and I thank NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy.

Marion Todd's novels are fast becoming my new favourite crime series. Reading In Plain Sight, the second in the DI Clare McKay series, was like watching a brilliant new crime thriller over a bank holiday weekend. It starts with a fairly unsavoury situation, with a baby being taken from its pram, in full view of a charity run. The story doesn't shy away from the potential consequences, which at times makes it an uncomfortable read. But this didn't put me off from reading, partly because you're desperate for a happy ending. The novel weaves various storylines elegantly together, from the crime investigation to the police politics and the home life of the heroine. You're rooting for DI McKay to suceed as much as you want the baby to be saved.

This is another brilliant novel and I can't wait for the next installment!

In Plain Sight by Marion Todd is the second book in the Detective Clare McKay series set in St Andrews and what a great book this is.
Parents Lisa and Kevin Maxwell are at a local fun run with their daughter Abi, when at the start of the run as they are enjoying themselves, for a minute they take their eye of their daughter. When they realise that their daughter Abi has been abducted. Detective Clare McKay and her Partner Chris West are called in to investigate. It is a race against time to find her as Abi has a heart defect and if she doesn’t have her medicine twice a day she may die.
This is another brilliant instalment to the series. It had a great gripping storyline and characters. Also, quite a few red herrings to keep you guessing all along the way. I highly recommend

When DI Clare Mackay is running a race on a beach the race has to be halted due to protesters laying on the beach causing disruption to the runners then a scream is heard . The woman who screamed is shouting " my baby has been taken". Clare is then forced to abandon the race and take the parents of the missing baby seriously. As the investigation progresses it is on a time limit as Police discover the baby has a heart problem and needs medication..
This s a really good read by Marion Todd as a second in the series featuring DI Clare Mackay. Looking forward to the next book.

In Plain Sight is fantastic! Dark, chilling and with lots of thrills! Just ordered the first book I enjoyed this so much.

I loved that the story is fast paced and has no weird side plots that often appear in crime novels. This book is near enough perfect! My only complaint would be that it doesn’t feel very Scottish. This could have been set anywhere.

The ending surprised me and that’s always a plus!

Absolutely loving this series and In Plain Sight has not disappointed at all! This story offers lots of drama and questions, you spend a lot of time doubting everyone and trying to get to the truth. Excellent read!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Awesome book! the suspense was good, it kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't get enough of the kidnapping stories.

This is the second in the new Scottish police procedural series featuring DI Clare MacKay. While the mystery stands alone and is complete within this book, the background stories within the novel are largely carry-ons from the first book in the series. For anyone looking to start a new series, they will benefit from reading the first book in the series before starting this one as much of the character development is in the first novel.
The central story of this book is a child abduction that takes place just as Clare and the community is getting ready to participate in a fun run for charity. To complicate matters, an environmental protest group lays across the starting line in protest of the company that is funding the run. Clare points out that their protest made the abduction easier, although she doesn’t really thing they were part of a grand plot.
From that point in the story, it is a straight police procedural, with Clare and her officers following leads to try and locate the baby. To increase their concern, they learn the baby has a heart defect and requires medication. The powers that be feel a Detective Chief Inspector needs to be brought in, and they tap Anthony McAvetie, with whom Clare and her sergeant have a negative history. This increases the tension, although there is little information provided in this novel about the specifics for the ill feelings. It also complicates matters that McAvetie’s primary focus is on obtaining the new Superintendent position, and to that end pushes to have Clare reach a quick solution to the kidnapping.
When McAvetie determines Clare isn’t moving fast enough to insure he gets the promotion he calls in a second DI. There is a brief exchange of tension between the new Di and Clare, but they soon start moving together to work toward the return of the baby. Along the way there are several deaths as Clare and her officers begin to close in on the perpetrator.
Overall, this is a good police procedural, well written and well plotted. The pacing is good as information helps propel you through the book. As with the first novel in the series, this book is one where it’s easy to find yourself continuing to read “just one more chapter” or to rush back to it if life has interrupted your reading.
There are two small improvements I would recommend. First, highlighting more of the personalities of the secondary characters to enrich the background of the story. Second, there is a rather abrupt ending in the final chapter that, while perhaps slightly foreshadowed could have added more to the story if there had been more of a buildup. As written, the struggles Clare apparently has in her personal life are treated more as an afterthought than a well developed part of the story.
I recommend this book and this series to anyone who likes police procedurals with the caution that to maximize enjoyment they should be read in order. My thanks to Canelo Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Digital Read copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

It was a coincidence that Detective Sergeant Chris West and DI Clare Mackay were at the beach when the baby was stolen. They were there for the fun run and their attention was taken by the NEFEW protesters who tried to disrupt the race. They're against the planned McIntosh Water bottled water plant to be constructed on Priory Marsh and the firm is sponsoring the fun run. It was Lisa Mitchell's scream which stopped everything. Her daughter, six-month-old Abi, had been taken from her pram whilst no one was looking. It's a major incident when any child is abducted but Abi needs regular medication because of a heart problem: without it, she might have only forty-eight hours to live.

The Scottish town of St Andrews doesn't have a Detective Chief Inspector on the roster and one would have to be brought in the oversee the investigation. Unfortunately for Chris West, it was Tony McAvettie: they have history from when McAvettie was on the wrong end of a punch delivered by West when the DCI slept with his girlfriend. Clare Mackay will have all on to protect West if there's a repetition and she's worried that there seems to be something amiss in the ongoing relationship between West and PC Sara Stapleton. The one point which gives her hope is that McAvettie is planning his next promotion (or pay increase of £10k a year, which seems to be the bit that interests him) and he's not that invested in the investigation.

I first met DI Clare Mackay in See Them Run and I was impressed. It was the first book in a new series and there was an awful lot to like, so it only took me a moment to decide that I was going to read In Plain Sight. There's always that slight worry that the book won't live up to expectations, but I forgot that very quickly. I was only a few pages in before I was completely hooked. The characterisation is excellent: in See Them Run I was a little concerned that only DS West from Mackay's police team really came off the page, but that wasn't the case this time around. At the end of the book, I was looking forward not, just to the next novel in the series, but to catching up with people I felt I knew.

The location is good too - firmly rooted in the area to the north-east of Edinburgh. Once again Marion Rodd doesn't rely - or even really mention - the golfing and university connections: this is simply the place where real people live, work and have their baby stolen. I could walk the streets, smell the sea air and hear the gulls scream.

The plot is good too. It wasn't one where I was tempted to try and work the answers out for myself: I was happy to be along for the ride and to enjoy a very satisfying solution. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.