Contrary to what the title suggests, fans clamoring for #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson’s most requested sequel will be happy to know that Detective Holmes is not actually missing. At least, not really.
When readers meet back up with Patterson’s beloved privative investigators, two of them—Auguste Poe and Margaret Marple—are racing to a new crime scene, where they will soon learn that their latest case is unlike anything they’ve faced before. Speeding across the Williamsburgh Bridge in Poe’s Shelby Charger (one of a half-dozen muscle cars we see him drive throughout), the duo drive into Manhatten before finally arriving at their destination: St. Michael’s Hospital. Once they finally park, Detective Helene Grey, who called the famed investigators and asked them to come to lend a hand, is waiting for them. Helene knows the case at hand requires the very best detectives, regardless of whether they’re NYPD or not. Her boss, Captian Graham Duff, does not agree. Waiting to be read in on what exactly happened, Poe and Marple are surprised when Helene tells them to follow her to the maternity floor. Sharing a confused glance, the partners had little time to prepare themselves for what they sensed they were about to walk into. Tragically, once the elevator doors open, Poe and Marple are led past crying mothers and fathers down a hall lined with hospital security staff and dozens of police officers. At the end of the hall, in the floor’s security room, Helene tells the private investigators that there have been six kidnappings, all newborn babies.
After Poe and Marple are shown around the maternity floor, the duo gets right to work. Noting that all six newborns were taken from the floor’s nursery, they quickly found lapses in the hospital’s general security. They also believe there’s reason to believe that whoever kidnapped the children were pros—hitting the nursery hard and fast before then disappearing into the night. An emotional scene unfolds when Poe and Marple meet with the parents of the missing babies, all of whom are heartbroken but suddenly filled with hope that their children may be found. After all, Holmes, Marple & Poe, the Brooklynn-based PI firm, was now famous after closing several major, high-profile cases the summer prior. Yet everyone seems to have the same question for the investigators: Where is Holmes?
In truth, Brenden Holmes has spent the last several months at a rehab facility, trying to get clean and free of the drug addiction that has dragged him down and threatened his career and those of his partners for so long. Neither Poe nor Marple have had any contact with him since he checked himself into rehab, and both are hesitant to force him back too soon. But with six babies missing, that’s a risk they know they have to take, and so, the two drive overnight to get their partner—who, they soon find out, has a few surprises of his own. In a shocking move, Holmes breaks the news that he has no plans of working on another case ever again and, as such, has decided to quit the firm. Poe, who is reeling from the revelation that Detective Grey is pregnant with his child, appeals to his longtime friend and partner, asking Holmes to help one last time, if not for them and the devastated parents, then for Helene. The guilt trip works, at least temporarily, as Holmes begrudgingly agrees to one last case, then tags along as the detectives go back to the hospital so he can get a look at the scene of the crime.
Holmes, a pure investigator (whereas Poe is the muscle and Marple the brains), sees things others have missed, giving the trio their first lead to chase. But the case takes a turn when Marple discovers that four babies were taken from another hospital, confirming a vile suspicion she had hoped would prove to be wrong. To save the children, Holmes, Marple & Poe will have to shed light on an evil underworld where babies are auctioned off on the dark web, but first, they have a mystery to solve within their own ranks, one that holds personal implications for them all in more ways than one.
Given the popularity of the character’s namesakes, it makes sense that Holmes Is Missing is, in fact, the most requested sequel of Patterson’s iconic career. For what it’s worth, I would say that this is one of those rare times where the sequel is indeed better than the original. On that note, you do not have to read Holmes, Marple & Poe (2024) in order to jump in with this as the stories themselves stand completely on their own. And while there is a considerable amount of character development here, the characters have a mysterious quality to them, right down to how they got their names (though you will learn the origin of one of them in this book), again making it easier to start by picking up this one as your first introduction to the cast. The missing infants is a gut-wrenching setup, but surprisingly, as heavy as that is—the weight increasing as Patterson and his co-author, Brian Sitts, pull back the curtain on different forms of human trafficking—another case also packs an emotional punch, all of which leads to a shock ending that certainly leaves the door open for the “greatest crime-solving team of the twenty-first century” to return sooner rather than later.
Fast-paced, twisting, and full of surprises, Holmes Is Missing winds its way towards a nail-biting final act, where James Patterson proves he’s still got plenty of zip left on his fastball.
Book Details
Author: James Patterson & Brian Sitts
Series: Holmes, Marple & Poe #2
Pages: 352 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0316569972
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: January 6, 2025
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