Toys in the Dust

Officer Leighton Jones returns in a gripping and fast-paced serial killer thriller from the author of The Girl on the Bus and Carpenter Road.
 
Two seven-year-old girls, Tina and Suzy, are playing in a dusty creek when a stranger appears and strikes up a conversation. He is sad that he doesn’t have a doll to play with like the girls do, so Suzy hurries home to fetch one. When she returns, Suzy discovers both Tina and the stranger have vanished. 

A short while later, traffic officer Leighton Jones, who is fighting his own demons, is driving home from the scene of a near-fatal accident. When Leighton sees a young girl race out in front of his car and vanish into the countryside, he reports the sighting. Unfortunately, his superiors, who are increasingly concerned about Leighton’s mental health, doubt the child exists. 

But after Tina’s mother confirms her daughter’s disappearance, Leighton risks his job by pursuing his own investigation of the case.

Meanwhile, in the Californian countryside, a child killer is relentlessly searching for the one who got away . . .

“Leighton Jones is one of the best characters I have read about. He sort of reminds me of Harry Bosch in that he is determined to get to the bottom of any wrongdoings, despite the consequences he may face.” —Broadbean’s Books
 
“A great page turner that I devoured within no time. The author has created a protagonist that the reader really gets behind and cares about.” —By the Letter Book Reviews
 
“A killer story that kept me on the edge of my seat.” —jbronderbookreviews