Ravenswick, on the Shetlands, is a small
community of just four dwellings, a little way out of Lerwick, but far enough
to be isolated. And those that live there are about to have their lives hit by tragedy
and heartache.
There is Magnus Tait, a strange old man
living alone on the hillside, long viewed with suspicion since the disappearance
of a young girl some eight years previous. In the school house is teacher Margaret
Henry, her husband Alex and teenage daughter Sally. Another teenager, Catherine
Ross, lives next door with her widowed father. In the other cottage is single
mum Fran Hunter with her little girl, Cassie.
When a strangled body is found in the snow
at Ravenswick the local Detective Inspector James Perez tries to keep an open
mind on the new crime, while everyone else is pointing the finger at Magnus Tait.
The unfolding story is told from multiple
viewpoints, effective in developing the characters and done cleverly enough to
unravel the mystery slowly and teasingly. Atmosphere is added in the shape of
the icy Shetland winter and the build up to the fiery Viking festival of Up
Helly Aa.
The balance of plot, location and character
is a real strength of the book, so that even after the culprit is revealed in a
tense and twisted climax the reader is left with a desire to find out how the
other players’ lives continue.
So the sequel, ‘White Nights’ becomes a
must-read.
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