The clearing A novel

Toyne, author of the Sanctus trilogy, sets this race-against-the-clock thriller in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, known, in actuality, for a disturbingly high number of young women who have vanished into it and have sometimes been found murdered. The dense, ancient woodland, with a labyrinth of abandoned mines beneath it, becomes a beyond-creepy backdrop for the drama of a young woman's disappearance and the difficulty of solving it. In the second title starring forensics expert Dr. Laughton Rees, following Dark Objects (2022), a woman vanishes after the Midsummer Eve's Fest in the Forest of Dean. Her sister Adele, who has a part-time gig as a cleaner at the festival, is frantic, and Toyne shows readers she has every right to be, as the point of view switches from Adele combing the forest to that of her sister, Maddie, buried alive under the trees. Dr. Rees fights the folkloric belief that a sinister spirit known as the Cinderman is responsible, but even she is shaken by what seems otherworldly. This is wonderfully plotted with strong characters, but what stands out most is the way the police ignore Adele's pleas because she and her sister (who has a history of drug possession) are among the easy-to-dismiss poor and unconnected. A well-crafted shocker.

Toyne's second mystery featuring criminologist Laughton Rees (after 2022's Dark Objects) further establishes the character as an effective series lead in the spirit of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. Rees, whose estranged father was the commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, consults for the U.K.'s National Crime Agency while conducting academic research on the connection between folklore and crimes. Those studies come in handy after 24-year-old Maddie Friar disappears from Cinderfield, a market town encircled by forest, on Midsummer's Eve. The woods near Cinderfield are reportedly the domain of the Cinderman, "some kind of forest phantom who's believed to prey on young women, particularly around certain dates like the summer solstice." That legend has been sustained by the disappearances of almost 60 women over 20 years, and when Rees learns about Friar's case, she heads to Cinderfield to investigate. Her efforts aren't welcomed by the area's chief constable, who suspects Friar, a woman with a lengthy criminal record, may not be missing at all. As Rees digs deeper and faces increasing resistance, she uncovers real-life horrors far scarier than any legend. Toyne makes the most of her creepy setting, and effectively conceals the truth behind the legend of the Cinderman until she's ready to reveal it. Everything here suggests that Rees merits a long series run. Agent: Alcie Saunders, Soho Agency. (July)