The Mushroom Man

Eight year old Georgina Dewhurst has gone missing.  D. I. Priest has been tasked with finding her.  Sometime later a ransom note appears.  Is it truly from the kidnapper, or simply someone making mischief?

The investigating team is startled to learn that Georgina is not the biological daughter of her father, which DNA tests indicate, and that her late mother left her business to Georgina.  Why is her father attempting to sell the business, against the terms of the will, when the police will provide traceable bills for the ransom money?

Meantime, DI Peterson has his hands full with the suspicious deaths of three vicars.  He has also received a collection of clippings of articles about the deaths with a picture of a mushroom pinned to the articles.  What is the meaning behind that?  As Peterson's investigation progresses, it leads him to where Priest is busy with the kidnapping.

When the body of the girl is found, a man steps forward in another jurisdiction confessing to the murder.  However, before he can be transferred back to Priest's jurisdiction, he commits suicide.  Priest is not convinced he was guilty, so he goes after the father of the girl.

As luck would have it, at this time, a friend of Priest's provides him with concert tickets.  He takes his girlfriend to the concert, and as they walk out of the auditorium, she is blasted by a shotgun.  Some of Priest's colleagues are convinced it is the Mushroom Man, as it is the same modus operandi that has been used in the murder of a number of vicars.  However, Priest is convinced that the shotgun blast was meant for him.

Author Stuart Pawson brings this thriller to an exciting and scary conclusion. An excellent read and I am looking forward to the next in the series.