Review by Booklist Review
Glendalough, an ancient pilgrimage site near Dublin, Ireland, has its contemplative idyll shattered when the body of a young woman is found there--a discovery that quickly turns even more devastating as further bodies are unearthed. Though the women appear long dead, the investigation by Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team has news-making urgency, thanks to the recent disappearance of a young woman who might still be held by the killer. Tension between rural and big-city cops, Reynolds' frustration with his politics- and media-obsessed boss, and a fledgling romance add verisimilitude and intrigue to the already transfixing serial-killer plot. The best-selling Spain (With Our Blessing and The Confession, both 2019) does an especially laudable job of portraying the dangers and injustices facing so-called loose women who report sexual crimes. An excellent tale that's perfect for fans of Tana French.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The discovery of the bodies of five young women, all strangled, buried in a valley south of Dublin kick-starts Spain's capable third mystery featuring Det. Insp. Tom Reynolds of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (after 2019's Beneath the Surface). Uncommon blue flowers planted around the graves, which a botanist determines come from Ireland's southwest, lead the police to deduce that the killer may be a sales representative for a gardening company. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Fiona Holland goes missing while walking home from a bar in a village outside Dublin. With the autopsy reports showing that the five murder victims were each held captive for a short time, Tom and his team are under the gun to locate Fiona as soon as possible, in the hope the killer has her and she's still alive. A touching subplot concerning Tom's friend Sean McGuinness, a former NBCI chief superintendent whose wife has Alzheimer's, adds emotional depth. Spain keeps the reader guessing to the end. Fans of contemporary Irish police procedurals will be rewarded. Agent: Nicola Barr, Bent Agency. (June)
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