The Woman at Number 9: 1

Some disappearances aren't meant to be solved. Former DI Nell Ward knows the bitter taste of a case gone wrong. Years ago, her conviction cost an innocent man his freedom, leaving her career in tatters. Now, Nell's independent investigation into Claire Mercer's vanishing challenges everything she believes about perception and reality, especially when police dismiss Claire's wild claims of murder as delusion. Claire reported her husband for killing their next-door neighbour, Anna, but there's no body, no evidence, and no record of Anna ever existing. With Claire's husband painting a picture of a woman in psychological distress, Nell suspects Claire fabricated the entire story. But a tiny, impossible clue at the supposedly empty Number Nine hints at a far more elaborate deception. As Nell unearths a hidden world where women vanish to escape danger, she's pulled into a complex web of deceit, blackmail, and an accidental death. But discovering the truth about Claire's disappearance could expose and endanger dozens of innocent women, forcing Nell to confront the blurred lines between justice and protection. With her integrity on the line, Nell must decide how much truth to reveal. But as she questions her every move, an anonymous note about the girl who shattered her police career suggests Nell's greatest failure is far from over. Will she risk everything to protect the vulnerable, or finally face the ghosts of her own past?