I do hope this is the first in a series as it’s being touted as, as well, it’s one of the most intriguing crime novels I’ve read in a while. Jenny is a complex bag of emotions who returns home and faces issues both in her life she’s escaped from and that which she now finds herself sucked into. I found her intriguing if not a little naive and a bit too reckless at times but then, she’s got a whole cast of characters to help out. The novel’s setting really does play a key role here and Lara has evoked it in every which way, conveying the island;s force, the clash of the waves, the spit of the sea and the noises that only seem to haunt her at night. Echoes of its Nazi past whip the currents around the island and blow sharp reminders in the wind of Guernsey’s ghosts. There’s a lot to this novel, twists and turns and a great chance to immerse yourself into the darkness of something which you’re not quite sure how it’s going to pan out…..There’s not as much gore as some novels as rather it’s the psychological aspects which chill the most. The current and past threads of the story were nicely interwoven and it made for a very immersive and haunting novel. This is one where the location plays a major role and it makes its presence felt and more. Cracking plot, history, intrigue, setting to die for (quite literarily!) and sprinkles of ghosts and folklore and you have a novel which delivers on every level and leaves you wanting more.

I always enjoy books set on islands, so when I saw the ‘The Devil’s Claw’ was set on Guernsey I knew I would love it. Using her experiences of her Guernsey life, Lara Dearman has captured island life perfectly. The claustrophobic everyone knows everyone feel is portrayed wonderfully and makes the perfect environment for a crime novel. There were lots of twists and red herrings in this book. A few times I thought I had the culprit pegged, then the rug would be pulled from under me and I would be back to square one. Being kept on my toes made ‘The Devil’s Claw’ a complete and utter page turner for me. The pairing of journalist, Jenny, and DCI Michael Gilbert, is one I hope to again soon. Jenny is the one who spots a pattern among drowned women on the island, her determination to seek justice for these women is admirable. She is single-minded in her quest and DCI Gilbert is right beside her. These two both have wounds from a previous life that they are trying to heal and they both have a strong belief in the truth, together they are pretty unstoppable. This was a highly enjoyable crime novel, blending together police procedural writing, folklore and journalistic integrity to create a page turning thriller, with a surprising ending. This is one that I definitely recommend.

Jenny has moved back home to Guernsey after the death of her father and a traumatic experience in London. She works as a reporter for the local newspaper and whilst out on assignment comes across the body of a young girl. Her investigation into the girl’s death leads her to links to other deaths over the last 50 years. With DCI Michael Gilbert she discovers that a serial killer may have been hiding in plain sight on the island for over half a century. I loved the setting of the novel. The island location helps to add a layer of claustrophobia, despite the beautiful landscape. It was the threat of being on a relatively small geographical area with a serial killer that made the story seem like that it was a closed room mystery. There are a variety of characters, all of them adding to the story. Michael is tenacious, principled and still haunted by the loss of his daughter. He is driven by her death to find the truth about the drownings. He works well with Jenny who is also a determined character and not just because of her journalist background. The two have both lost loved ones to the sea and this shared trauma helps them to bond. The fact that Jenny isn’t bound by the same procedural restrictions as Michael also makes them a good team. The unique political and historical background for the island was fascinating and added a richness to the story. I had guessed the identity of the killer before the reveal but it was still fun to read how Jenny and Michael come to the same conclusion. There were some parts of the story that seemed a little long, though I put this down to the fact that I had identified the culprit and was waiting for the characters to catch up, and the pace picked up as the story progressed to it’s conclusion. An enjoyable introduction to Jenny and Michael. I’m looking forward to reading more from Lara Dearman in the future.

This book is the first in a series centred around Jennifer Dorey, a reporter returned home after a troubled stint in London. Her hope is to find some peace at home but discovers a pattern of deaths of teenage girls across five decades while researching an article for the local paper, she reports her findings to the police and helps them in their investigation to bring down a serial killer that nobody realised walked among them for so long. This story weaves in local folklore and landmarks, which adds a layer of sinister authenticity to the killings. The landscape itself is a character in this book and you can almost hear the wind and sea while you read it. The main character is constantly reminding us that everyone knows everyone else’s business when they live in a small community like Guernsey, but there’s not really anything to back this up as she doesn’t interact with very many people at all and those that she does don’t know who she is, and nobody has noticed the strange proportion of teenage deaths on the island. As this is central to the plot, I did find it frustrating. The chapters flipped back and forth between the perspectives of Jennifer, DI Gibson and the memories of the murderer which gradually catch up with the current day. This isn’t a format that I’m fond of as I like to fully relate to one character and follow their journey through to the end. DI Gibson was my favourite character of the bunch, a man who is doing everything he can to find a reason to keep on living after the death of his teenage daughter. Everything he does is tempered by his loss and he’s a better detective in some ways because of it. In the end, I think this book was the wrong choice for me – I’m a fan of crime thrillers in general but this book felt like a cosy mystery plot-line in a dark thriller writing style, complete with very short sentences, that I couldn’t come to grips with.