Writing: 3/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters 4/5
My first Sally Rigby novel. DI Lauren Pengelly is two years into her job on the Penzance police force when bones are discovered on a nearby farm. Not an area with a great deal of crime, Pengelly and crew are taken by surprise when a three year old girl disappears from a local day care center later that same afternoon. And thus begins the mystery novel that is sure to be the first in a series. Pengelly is a female version of the crusty old detective and her brand new sidekick — Matt Price — has an engaging backstory and personality that nicely support her. Vera Stanhope and her (two) trusty sidekicks come to mind.
Parts of the story were a little stressful for me — I don’t like to read about bad things happening to children so I’m going to give a little spoiler here to say that the children are OK by the end without giving away anything else in the plot. This is something I would have liked to know before reading. Plot is a little slow but gets good by the end. I like the characters and I feel like the author left room for future character development.
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 5th, 2023.
Books to look forward to ... 