Overview

Confidence throws us into a disappearance that turns into a chase. Filmmaker Lisa Lee vanishes from a Scottish seaside town, and the internet rushes in to decide who she is and what happened. Then a priceless Roman silver casket, linked to her last film, is listed for auction in Paris with a reserve price of fifty million euros. Journalists Anna and Fin follow the trail across Europe, through art smuggling, wealthy fixers, and religious zealotry, while someone works hard to keep Lisa and the casket buried.

Writing & Voice

We read this for the drive in the sentences. Mina keeps the story moving, even when the scope widens fast. We liked the mix of on the ground danger with the noise of online attention. The voice stays sharp, sometimes funny, and never precious about the uglier parts of the world it is describing.

Content & Perspective

We stay close to Anna and Fin as working journalists, trying to separate facts from the story everyone wants. The book keeps asking what we do when a missing person becomes content, and how quickly pity turns into suspicion. We also get a strong sense that Lisa is not a simple victim, which keeps the moral ground shifting under our feet as the hunt grows more dangerous.

Themes

We come away thinking about confidence as a weapon: confidence in money, in belief, in a narrative, in being untouchable. The novel plays with deception and theft, but also with public hunger, online judgement, and the way powerful people hide behind institutions. It is a thriller that keeps one eye on how stories are sold and who benefits.

What Worked

• A tight hook that links a disappearance to a high value object.
• A convincing journalistic lens on rumours, frenzy, and motive.
• A wide canvas that still keeps personal danger in view.

Minor Quibbles

• Some leaps in the chase can feel brisk, with little time to breathe.
• A few big ideas arrive quickly, and we wanted slightly more space for them.

Final Thoughts

We liked how it treats certainty as suspicious, and how it keeps turning the spotlight back on the people watching.

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5