352 pages
Orion Publishing
Mystery & Thrillers
Book Description:
Catching him will make her career - and change her forever.
August, 1999
On the hottest day of the year, Assistant Commissioner Florence Lovelady attends the funeral of Larry Glassbrook, the convicted murderer she arrested thirty years earlier. A master carpenter and funeral director, Larry imprisoned his victims, alive, in the caskets he made himself. Clay effigies found entombed with their bodies suggested a motive beyond the worst human depravity.
August, 1999
On the hottest day of the year, Assistant Commissioner Florence Lovelady attends the funeral of Larry Glassbrook, the convicted murderer she arrested thirty years earlier. A master carpenter and funeral director, Larry imprisoned his victims, alive, in the caskets he made himself. Clay effigies found entombed with their bodies suggested a motive beyond the worst human depravity.
June, 1969
13-year- old Patsy Wood has been missing for two days, the third teenager to disappear in as many months. New to the Lancashire police force and struggling to fit in, WPC Lovelady is sent to investigate an unlikely report from school children claiming to have heard a voice calling for help. A voice from deep within a recent grave.
13-year- old Patsy Wood has been missing for two days, the third teenager to disappear in as many months. New to the Lancashire police force and struggling to fit in, WPC Lovelady is sent to investigate an unlikely report from school children claiming to have heard a voice calling for help. A voice from deep within a recent grave.
August, 1999
As she tries to lay her ghosts to rest, Florence is drawn back to the Glassbrooks' old house, in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where she once lodged with the family. She is chilled by the discovery of another effigy - one bearing a remarkable resemblance to herself. Is the killer still at large? Is Florence once again in terrible danger? Or, this time, could the fate in store be worse than even her darkest imaginings?
As she tries to lay her ghosts to rest, Florence is drawn back to the Glassbrooks' old house, in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where she once lodged with the family. She is chilled by the discovery of another effigy - one bearing a remarkable resemblance to herself. Is the killer still at large? Is Florence once again in terrible danger? Or, this time, could the fate in store be worse than even her darkest imaginings?
My thoughts:
This book is set right at the end of the 1960's and later in the 1990's centring around the Glassbrook family and their lodger WPC Florence (Flossie) Lovelady. Lovelady is noticeable by being the first female police officer in a small Northern town of Sabden and a Londoner to boot. Her long red hair makes her unmissable wherever she goes. Coincidentally the disappearances of local teenager started at around the time Flossie started her duties.
The 1960s setting is perfectly described with small town attitudes and the lack of present day technology coming together to make the reader feel as if they are part of the book. Florence soon turns heads within the force offices when her enthusiasm earns her a place on the investigation team. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen.
With 2 young girls and a lad all missing the author has managed to portray the sense of dread, fear and eventually terror in her descriptions of what Florence and the team find when Florence follows her gut feelings. This is definitely not a book for the faint hearted. The suspicions of the local residents gradually move away from the local known paedophile in terms of blame and somehow Florence finds herself in the frame. This makes her work even harder to try and find the missing children despite her concerns that the outcome won't be a positive one for the families. Witchcraft and local myths figure strongly in the local community and Florence needs to sort out the facts from the fiction to keep herself and others safe from harm. Help comes from the strangest of sources yet the truth will take a long time to come out.
Once the happenings of the original crime and investigation are duly explained, the story then moves nearer the present day and Florence is now married with her own teenage son and is flying high in the police force.
She and her son find themselves back in Sabden as Florence attempts to lay some ghosts to rest, only to find a Pandora's box of horrors opening before her and her worst fears becoming reality.
I found this to be a creepy, gripping thriller of a novel which really had me guessing whodunnit and how right through to the end. The characters are perfect for their time setting and there are definitely lots of surprises along the way. I certainly recommend this book for any lover of a creepy crime novel.
This book is set right at the end of the 1960's and later in the 1990's centring around the Glassbrook family and their lodger WPC Florence (Flossie) Lovelady. Lovelady is noticeable by being the first female police officer in a small Northern town of Sabden and a Londoner to boot. Her long red hair makes her unmissable wherever she goes. Coincidentally the disappearances of local teenager started at around the time Flossie started her duties.
The 1960s setting is perfectly described with small town attitudes and the lack of present day technology coming together to make the reader feel as if they are part of the book. Florence soon turns heads within the force offices when her enthusiasm earns her a place on the investigation team. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen.
With 2 young girls and a lad all missing the author has managed to portray the sense of dread, fear and eventually terror in her descriptions of what Florence and the team find when Florence follows her gut feelings. This is definitely not a book for the faint hearted. The suspicions of the local residents gradually move away from the local known paedophile in terms of blame and somehow Florence finds herself in the frame. This makes her work even harder to try and find the missing children despite her concerns that the outcome won't be a positive one for the families. Witchcraft and local myths figure strongly in the local community and Florence needs to sort out the facts from the fiction to keep herself and others safe from harm. Help comes from the strangest of sources yet the truth will take a long time to come out.
Once the happenings of the original crime and investigation are duly explained, the story then moves nearer the present day and Florence is now married with her own teenage son and is flying high in the police force.
She and her son find themselves back in Sabden as Florence attempts to lay some ghosts to rest, only to find a Pandora's box of horrors opening before her and her worst fears becoming reality.
I found this to be a creepy, gripping thriller of a novel which really had me guessing whodunnit and how right through to the end. The characters are perfect for their time setting and there are definitely lots of surprises along the way. I certainly recommend this book for any lover of a creepy crime novel.
About the Author:
Sharon J Bolton was born and brought up in Lancashire, the eldest of three daughters. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress and a dancer, studying ballet, tap and jazz from a young age and reading drama at Loughborough University.
She spent her early career in marketing and PR before returning to full-time education to study for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Warwick University, where she met her husband, Andrew. They moved to London and Sharon held a number of PR posts in the City. She left the City to work freelance, to start a family and to write.
She and Andrew now live in a village in the Chiltern Hills, not far from Oxford, with their son and the latest addition to the family: Lupe, the lop-eared lurcher. Her daily life revolves around the school run, walking the dog and those ever-looming publishing deadlines
She spent her early career in marketing and PR before returning to full-time education to study for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Warwick University, where she met her husband, Andrew. They moved to London and Sharon held a number of PR posts in the City. She left the City to work freelance, to start a family and to write.
She and Andrew now live in a village in the Chiltern Hills, not far from Oxford, with their son and the latest addition to the family: Lupe, the lop-eared lurcher. Her daily life revolves around the school run, walking the dog and those ever-looming publishing deadlines
Social Media Links:
URL https://www.goodreads.com/SJBolton
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