Just Another Missing Person

Portishead, the setting of the novel, is a small coastal town in Somerset, in southwest England, with a population of approximately 27,000. The setting shapes the narrative in a variety of ways. Because of its size, Portishead often pools its resources with other cities in the area; Julia says, “Portishead is small, underfunded like everything, ill-equipped, each big case requiring a team cobbled together from Bristol, Avon and Somerset” (21). Portishead is located near the mouth of the Avon River, the waterway that connects Bristol to the Bristol Channel. Portishead’s location results in weather that tends to be wetter and warmer than much of the rest of England. Julia, whose house is on the water, can have a window open even in the winter. It also explains several mentions of “the smell of Portishead’s ever-present damp” (11).

Sugar Loaf Beach is known both as a vacation area and a highly valued residential neighborhood. Although Julia and Art are separated, they buy a house overlooking Sugar Loaf Beach. As Julia describes it, “During winter storms, the sand glasses the windows and blows in the cracks […] It is unimaginably lovely” (28). Given how highly valued real estate is along the beach, it is easier to see why Julia and Art would buy a house together when the property came on the market.