DCI Ryan is taking a break, on garden leave after a traumatic last case. He is on the idyllic Lindisfarne, aka Holy Island, semi-attached to the Northumberland coast by a causeway covered twice daily by the tide. Then a body is discovered, laid out on an altar stone in the grounds of the ruined priory. The tide is in, and with no local police, DCI Ryan feels obliged to get back in the saddle and take charge.
There is potentially a ritualistic element to the killing, and against Ryan’s wishes an expert from Durham University, Dr Taylor, is sent in to assist. But when Ryan meets the attractive Anna Taylor, he is more than happy to tolerate her presence. For Anna it is also a chance to return to her childhood home where complicated baggage remains.
Ryan has to manage his demons, marshal his meagre resources, overcome the locals’ closing of ranks, and manage his romantic feelings for Anna, while solving the crime (which soon multiplies into crimes as further deaths occur).
The plot rattles along, bumping over a few ‘as if’ moments. The procedural element is strong and remarkably efficient in getting evidence processed and paperwork completed in no time at all. There are false leads and unreliable witnesses to contend with, and those pesky tides, before a climactic resolution in the castle on the hill.
But is it resolved?
An epilogue hints not quite – and this is just the first of twenty and counting
DCI Ryan books each centred on a Northeast landmark. The sites may be iconic, but
based on this read I am not sure if the books will be able to make the same
claim.
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