In coming to rural Ireland, Cal Hooper has put an ocean between himself and the life left behind – his job with the Chicago PD, an acrimonious divorce, and a grown up daughter he cannot connect with. On a whim he has bought a run down cottage in need of renovation, a bit like him.
He is an outsider in the close knit community, but he is slowly being accepted by his neighbour, Mart, the local shopkeeper, Noreen, and the regulars at Sean Og’s pub. But someone, he feels, is less welcoming and is spying on him at the cottage.
It’s a kid, it turns out, clearly troubled. But once trust of sorts is established, Cal is asked for a favour. The kid’s brother went missing a few months back and nobody is bothering to look for him. The police reckon he’s a bad un they are well rid of, his mother thinks he's gone off like his daddy did, and his friends all have different theories. To Cal none of it adds up. His professional interest is piqued, and his young friend’s concern leads him to investigate.
But when an incomer to the town like him begins to ask awkward questions, ranks are closed, and it is not answers that come his way so much as warnings off.
The steady rhythm of the book reflects the pace of life in the location. The relationship between the landscape, weather, and people is particularly well drawn. It is idyllic in a rough and ready way, which makes the menace, when it comes, all the more threatening. Without his gun, badge, and back-up, Cal has to rely on his wits, experience, and bluff to get to the bottom of things. On the way he earns a little about himself and his failed relationships.
The plot has twists
and turns, there are hints of romantic interest, and a resolution of sorts by
the end, which makes for an atmospheric, enjoyable, and satisfying read.
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