Published by Canelo, 2 May 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-80436717-9 (PB)
Detective Inspector Jan
Talantire is out on a date when she receives urgent texts. An elderly lady has
been stabbed to death in a cottage in Ilfracombe.
When Talantire arrives there, she is met by Inspector T. P. Carnegie. The scene
is horrific, the woman lies on the kitchen table impaled by a crucifix through
her chest. A neighbour said she had heard arguing two days ago and hadn’t seen
the lady since. Today she could get no answer when knocking on her door and had
called the police. The dead body is identified as Ruth Lyle.
Checks are made and it is revealed that exactly fifty years ago to the day last
Thursday when the murder was thought to have taken place, a young girl of the
same name was killed in the same place in the same way. The only difference
being she was found laid out on the altar as the building was a church back
then.
A very baffling case ensues, all the records match,
seemingly it is the same woman who died fifty years ago. Even the dates of
birth are exactly the same, but how can a person die twice?
Tests prove the crucifix is even the same one used in the first murder, plus
weirdly, DNA tests on the present crucifix also match up with the first murder!
So, begins an in-depth investigations into the
death fifty years ago. However, Talantire finds she is thwarted on all levels.
Many records of the time seem to have “disappeared”, leading the team to
realise someone in authority is hiding their involvement in the past.
It is revealed that a young man was charged with
the original murder but was placed in a secure hospital rather than jail.
However, he was released a few months ago and given a new identity. Could he
really be responsible again? No matter how hard they try, Talantire and her
team cannot find his whereabouts. They get no help from the Home Office either
who want to uphold his new identity.
Further investigations also prove that the recent
Ruth Lyle is not all that she seemed to be.
Even the hardened police are taken aback. Another puzzle is who or what
is “the dark angel of the Lord” mentioned several times by the first
perpetrator?
This is certainly the strangest and most unsettling
murder case D. I. Talantire has had to deal with to date.
A very clever, weirdly fascinating murder story. I
thoroughly enjoyed it and there were even some laugh aloud moments to lighten
the mood. Plus, there is a tantalising hint on the last page that another book
may follow – I do hope so.
Really highly recommended.------Reviewer: Tricia Chappell
Nick Louth is a best-selling thriller writer,
award-winning financial journalist and an investment commentator. He
self-published his first novel, Bite,
which was a No. 1 Kindle best-seller. It has sold a third of a million copies
and been translated into six languages. Freelance since 1998, he has been a regular contributor to the financial Times, Investors Chronical and Money Observer. Nick is married and lives in Lincolnshire.
Tricia Chappell.
I have a great love of books and
reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of
golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far
flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am
really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.
