King Of The Badgers by Philip Hensher (Fourth Estate)

IN a quiet picturesque seaside down in Devon, an eight year old girl disappears and the media hordes swoop westwards looking for a sensational headline or two.

But King Of The Badgers is not a crime thriller, not a whodunnit, instead the author lifts the lid on middle class respectability and carries out a forensic investigation into what lies below the surface.