The setting is Bristol England. We start off with detectives arriving on a crime scene, the rain is coming down heavy and the crime scene needs to be secured. The detectives find the bodies of Scott Ashby and Charlie Paige, two eleven year old boys, half buried in a construction site. The prime suspect is a local man, 24 year old Sidney Noyce. Sidney is a large man and mentally deficienct, but does that make him the murderer? He proclaims his innocence.
Twenty years later that same detective, John Fletcher, now a seasoned officer is called to the exact crime scene to find another body buried in the same spot. Fletcher will open the old files as it seems too big a coincidence.
Now we are introduced to Cody Swift, a film maker and good friend of Scott and Charlie’s when they were children. He is seemingly tramatized by the events 20 years prior and with the discovery of another body/murder in the same place, he decides to start an investigative podcast about the murders. The story is told from all sorts of perspectives – those of the podcasts, the detectives and family members. The podcasts are a medium to stir up feelings and behaviors from the past focusing on Charlie’s mother, a pimp and a twist on how the detectives handled the earlier murder.
The podcasts were integral to the plot but it’s like reading a radio talk show. That part was a little weird for me. Otherwise, Gilly MacMillan weaves a twisty mystery in her usual style.
Much thanks to Goodreads for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not compensated for my review.
Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday
This sounds good.
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Gilly MacMillan writes some good books, Vicki. One of my favorites was called The Nanny. That’s a good story.
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You didn’t quite convince me to read this one!
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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Mae, I actually thought I’d had read it previously and then Goodreads informed me I’d won a copy. Always exciting to win a book. I think The Nanny was better.
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I think I might like the podcast part of it. I’ve enjoyed some true crime podcasts, but I’ve also been kind of careful not to go too deeply into that rabbit hole.
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You’d probably like this one then, Joy. I’ve enjoyed her previous novels too.
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