Devoted Father or Merciless Killer?

His secrets are buried with him.

Thirty years ago three missing teenagers were found dead after being buried alive. Larry Glassbrook was the creepy, Elvis-lookalike, coffin-maker convicted of the crime by young WPC Florence Lovelace. After Larry’s death, the disappearances begin again. Was Larry the real killer after all? Florence, now a high-ranking officer has to investigate.

This is a wonderful mystery/horror thriller with elements of the supernatural. It’s the first of Sharon Bolton’s books that I’ve read and I’m going to make sure I read more by her. It layers twist upon twist and holds you until the very last page.

I loved the evocative details of the landscape that surrounds Florence. I felt I was there with her, looking at the Hill with her.

The Hill is unchanged, of course. I doubt it will ever change. In the sunshine, in August, it has a wild beauty that might almost make you forget its terrible history, the merciless persecution of helpless women that happened here. The grasses have turned golden, and the heather is blooming all the way up the south face. The bare rocks gleam like jewels in the bright light. It is a huge plateau-topped mass of limestone and clay that has given rise to a thousand legends, all of the dark. It soars above this small town, throwing its shadow over the lives of the people who live at its foot.

This is Pendle. Witch country.