Review by Booklist Review
In the sequel to The Devil's Claw (2018), journalist Jennifer Dorey teams up again with Detective Chief Inspector Michael Gilbert to solve a pair of mysteries in Sark, one of England's Channel Islands. Like its predecessor, this second Dorey mystery relies heavily on its setting: the author lived for many years in the Channel Islands, and readers will feel the isolation, the almost claustrophobic feeling of living in a tiny community totally surrounded by water. Jennifer and Michael make a good team: she's young and inquisitive; he's older, nearing the end of a long career, and there isn't much he hasn't seen before. They complement each other quite nicely, and the story is just convoluted enough to keep readers on their toes. A great choice for mystery fans attracted to vivid, unusual settings.--David Pitt Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Dearman's crisply written sequel to The Devil's Claw takes Jenny Dorey from Guernsey, where she's a reporter for the Guernsey News, to the nearby Channel Island of Sark, where a human skeleton has turned up in a cave. Sark-three miles long by a mile wide-has a population of about 450. For police work, the Sarkees depend on the force in Guernsey. At the site where the bones were found, Jenny sees the investigating officer, her friend Det. Chief Insp. Michael Gilbert, who tells her that the skeleton is female and has been there for at least 20 years. Hours later, someone slits the throat of doddering old Reg Carré, leading Jenny to wonder: "What the hell else can have happened on Sark in the last twenty-four hours?" The answer is-plenty. Meanwhile, Jenny remains obsessed with the death of her father, who fell from his boat two years earlier and drowned in what was officially deemed an accident, but she believes was murder. An intricate plot, intriguing characters, and an unusual setting make this a winner. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Mysteries old and new jostle for attention in Dearman's second chilly valentine to the Channel Islands.Not much happens on tiny Sark Island, and you'd think that the discovery of a skeleton, dead who knows how long, in a cavelike tomb on Derrible Bay would be the biggest story of the year. As it turns out, it's not even the biggest story of the day. Guernsey News reporter Jenny Dorey, who's made the trip to Sark to cover the story of the old bones, finds herself swiftly enmeshed in a more recent mystery: Someone has cut the throat of retired gardener Reg Carr. The man was an old curmudgeon, but, as his self-styled acquaintance Malcolm Perr sagely tells Jenny, "Round here, see, if falling out with someone led to murder, we'd all be fucking dead." Neither Jenny nor Guernsey DCI Michael Gilbert, who's already worked with her on one case (The Devil's Claw, 2018), believes that the old man's death on the same day the old bones came to light is coincidental. What disturbs Jenny even more is the two mysteries' possible connections to the sudden decision of reclusive billionaire Corey Monroe, who bought the neighboring island of Brecqhou five years ago, to offer her an interview or to the death several years back of Charlie Dorey, the father whose drowning now looks more and more suspicious. But Jenny's digging is bound to exact a priceas newcomer Tuesday Jones, who's only lived on Sark for 25 years, advises her, "Have the News send over someone who's less likely to get us all killed"though this time, Michael will pay a higher price than she does.Dearman effortlessly evokes the island's atmosphere, but this caseload has more felonies and felons than a pickpockets' convention. Sark's three square miles are home to 450 souls, and by the fadeout you'll be convinced that every single one of them is dirty. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
