THE SHROUD MAKER

THE SHROUD MAKER by Kate Ellis

Pages: 370

Date 08/06/2014

Grade: 4

Details: no. 18 Wesley Peterson

            Received from Piatkus

            Through Nudge

Own

The blurb:

A grisly find . . .

A year on from the mysterious disappearance of Jenny Bercival, DI Wesley Peterson is called in when the body of a strangled woman is found floating out to sea in a dinghy.The discovery mars the festivities of the Palkin Festival, held each year to celebrate the life of John Palkin, a fourteenth century Mayor of Tradmouth who made his fortune from trade and piracy. And now it seems like death and mystery have returned to haunt the town. 

A faceless enemy . . .

Could there be a link between the two women? One missing, one brutally murdered? And is there a connection to a fantasy website called Shipworld which features Palkin as a supernatural hero with a sinister, faceless nemesis called the Shroud Maker?

Will history repeat itself once again?

When archaeologist Neil Watson makes a grim discovery on the site of Palkin's warehouse, it looks as if history might have inspired the killer.And it is only by delving into the past that Wesley comes to learn the truth . . . a truth that will bring mortal danger in its wake.

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My thoughts:

I’ve read most, although not all, of the previous Wesley Peterson mysteries and have to admit that even after almost twenty books I’m still intrigued with these stories. The way in which Kate Ellis manages to combine historical mysteries with present day crimes never fails to impress me. Of course it is a stretch of the imagination that every crime this police force investigates happens to bear striking similarities with crimes committed in the past but it is a conceit that works very well and gives the story added interest.

The mystery in this book intrigued me and kept me on the edge of my seat although I have to admit that there were times when the sheer number of characters and suspects confused me. In fact, even now that I’ve finished the book I have to think long and hard before I’m able to explain exactly what happened and why. In fact, it almost feels as if the author went a bit too far when she plotted this story. There are too many different angles that are too similar to each other. I’d like to expand on this point but since I’m unable to do so without spoiling the story for others I’ll refrain. Having said that, while the resolution may have been convoluted, it did work and fit the story perfectly. My issue is not with an unsatisfactory ending rather than a not clear cut enough one.

One of the things I enjoy about long running series is the opportunity they give the reader to really get to know the characters and watch them as time passes. Having said that, some plot points have been dragged out a bit too long for me by this stage. I just don’t buy Rachel still being obsessed with Wesley after all this time and while I appreciate it gives the story added spice I really think that particular storyline has been milked for all its worth.

I do appreciate Kate Ellis painting a more or less realistic picture of police work and the frustrations involved. While the mysteries are solved and the reader is given all the answers, it doesn’t always mean that those who need to be punished are also caught. And I like the way these books are written. The style is unhurried, almost leisurely, and yet there isn’t a boring or uninteresting sentence in the book. The star attraction in these books has always been and still is the very clever link between past (be it distant or recent) and present.

I am still glad I discovered this series several years ago and know that I will continue reading these mysteries for as long as the author continues to write them.

HOSTILE GROUND

TITLE: HOSTILE GROUND

AUTHORS: L.A. WITT & ALEKSANDR VOINOV

Pages: 300

Date: 13/05/2014

Grade: 4.5

Details: Received from Riptide Publishing

             Through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.

To protect the strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires—including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop—and before they both grow too close to betray one another.

As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet.

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My thoughts:

Talk about dropping your main character knee deep in shit. Mahir, a Seattle Detective, goes undercover in a strip club in the full knowledge that the three policemen who preceded him have been shot and killed. Because the owner of the club doesn’t want his security staff to interfere with the girls working there, Mahir’s first hurdle is the ‘gay-test’. Since Mahir is gay this isn’t a huge issue but the head of security investigating his credentials, Ridley, is one scary bastard. Which makes Mahir’s reaction to the test rather surprising. Rather than repulsed he finds himself excited and drawn to the man.

Mahir’s cover is well established and means he has to live away from his own house most of the time which makes the arrival of his teenage nephew a problem. The boy has left home after coming out to his mother and afraid of his father’s reaction. Since Mahir has had a fraught relationship with his brother ever since he came out, he understands the boy’s fears and allows him to stay even thought it means leaving him alone most of the time.

As a strange, potentially dangerous but compelling relationship with Ridley develops, Mahir has to balance the various balls he’s trying to keep in the air. If his cover is blown he’ll die, probably at the hand of the man he’s becoming ever more attracted to. A man who seems incapable of staying away from his as well.

With it being unclear exactly what the owner of the club is up to the investigation can’t be rushed while every single day undercover increases the risks for Mahir. And it isn’t long before Mahir isn’t the only person in mortal danger.

This was a fascinating book. It is both a thriller and a love story but it is so much more. The authors deal with a host of issues while never giving the reader the feeling that they’re being overwhelmed with them. Through Mahir’s nephew we get a look at the problem of coming out to parents who neither understand nor ‘approve of’ being gay. Mahir being a Muslim leads to the unavoidable issue of bullying and discrimination. Both issues are woven into the story in a meaningful yet unobtrusive way. Often, when an author wants to deal with an issue the reader gets beaten over the head with it. Not in this book. The issues were there but not only did they fit the story they were also dealt with in such a way that they made the reader think without taking them out of the main story-line.

I was fascinated by the transformation Mahir went through every time he had to become Saeed and couldn’t look away when his cover was put to the ultimate test.

I love it when authors have respect for their readers’ intelligence. I won’t say what, but I saw two plot developments coming quite early on in the story and half feared it would be dragged out until the final pages, as seems to be the standard these days. I’m very grateful it wasn’t and am convinced it made the story much better than it would have been if they’d gone for the more standard approach.

The relationship between Mahir and Ridley was intriguing as well as incredibly hot. I loved the smalls shifts in dominance between these two men and their inability to stay away from each other even though being together posed huge risks for both of them. Mahir falling for Ridley against his better judgment despite the dangers involved was breathtaking.

“...dammit, but that was a smile tugging at the man’s lips. Butterflies in his stomach? More like a  horde of red-assed apes going berserk in there.”

I don’t know enough about Islam or being a Muslim to say whether or not that aspect of the story was dealt with in a realistic manner. What I can say is that I never questioned Mahir’s thoughts or actions or felt the need to double check something. All of it made sense and felt natural.

It is a joy to have authors you can turn to, secure in the knowledge you’re starting a well written story with fascinating characters and a captivating narrative. Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt have turned into must read authors for me. I barely even glance at the blurbs for their books, because I know that I’ll love their words regardless of the story content. And, Hostile Ground only confirmed that idea for me. It was a thrilling page turner with enough love and sex to give the reader a breather from all the tension while the secondary characters all had a meaningful place in the story. In short this was a well-plotted, intriguing, hot and fascinating story written by two authors who have turned captivating their readers into an art form. This book comes highly recommended.

THE NAMELESS DEAD

TITLE: THE NAMELESS DEAD

AUTHOR: BRIAN McGILLOWAY

Pages: 379

Date: 29/03/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: No. 5 Inspector Devlin

             A Dialogues Through Literature

             Reading group read

Library

The blurb:

“'You can't investigate the baby, Inspector. It's the law.' 

Declan Cleary's body has never been found, but everyone believes he was killed for informing on a friend over thirty years ago.

Now the Commission for Location of Victims' Remains is following a tip-off that he was buried on the small isle of Islandmore, in the middle of the River Foyle. Instead, the dig uncovers a baby's skeleton, and it doesn't look like death by natural causes. But evidence revealed by the Commission's activities cannot lead to prosecution. 

Inspector Devlin is torn. He has no desire to resurrect the violent divisions of the recent past. Neither can he let a suspected murderer go unpunished. Now the secret is out, more deaths follow. Devlin must trust his conscience - even when that puts those closest to him at terrible risk.”

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My thoughts:

The disappeared:

“Individuals who, during the early days of the Troubles in the North, had been targeted because of some slight, imagined or actual, against the local IRA commanders.”

This book is the fifth title in a series in which I haven’t read any of the previous stories. Although I didn’t feel that affected the way I experienced this book it is of course possible that my review would have been slightly different if I had read the book after the previous four.

This book has a lot going on between its covers. Inspector Devlin is overseeing a search for one of the disappeared when the body of a baby is found. Not only does the baby show signs of having been born with birth-defects, it is also clear she was murdered. The death of an innocent baby, even if it happened decades ago, is not something Devlin can ignore even if he does know that he can’t officially investigate the dead nor use anything he discovers in a prosecution.

Things get more complicated when the son of the ‘disappeared’ man they are searching for is murdered. The waters are muddied even further when a second man is found dead.

When several other babies are found buried, all with similar birth defects, the case reaches a new level of frustration for Devlin. He can’t help feeling that the man who was ‘disappeared’ decades ago, the babies and the recent murders are all connected in some way. But with the law as it stands, he is officially not allowed to investigate anything except the recent murders.

When everything is eventually revealed it does provide answers, but whether or not justice has been served is anybody’s guess.

It is clear from my description there is a lot going on in this book. The disappeared, unbaptised babies, a crying baby that doesn’t appear to exist, ‘normal’, present day murders, ghost estates, cross-border jurisdiction, and private issues in the Devlin household all add to the story in what, occasionally, seemed to be almost an overload of story-line. Having said that, I was impressed with the way in which the author managed to pull all those, apparently separate, issues together in what was a well plotted although not entirely satisfactory conclusion. I would love to say more about this and explain why I found the ending less than satisfactory but can’t do so without spoiling the story. All I say is that it had nothing to do with the writing or the plotting, and shouldn’t be a reason for anyone to not pick up the book.

This book did make me think though. I’ve been aware of the disappeared and the efforts to find them for as long as I’ve been living in Ireland. I have to admit though, that I hadn’t really given it any thought before reading this book. It is one hell of a dilemma. Of course everybody wants to find those who disappeared without a trace decades ago, if only so that their families at last have certainty and the opportunity to bury their dead. On the other hand, the price for that scant comfort – no investigation and no prosecution – seems incredibly high. Just as the fact that those who committed those murders are getting off without any punishment just feels wrong and very far removed from anything justice is supposed to be.

Overall I would call this a good mystery, filled with realistic characters and more than enough issues to ensure the discussion my reading group will be having next week should be lively.