Books 81-82: Walking by Night and Redemption
Book 81: Walking by Night )Joe Plantagenet #5).
Author: Kate Ellis, 2015.
Genre: Crime. Police Procedural. Ghosts/Haunting.
Other Details: Hardback. 224 pages.
Taking a short cut beneath the ruined abbey in the centre of the historic North Yorkshire city of Eborby, a teenage girl on her way home from a night out reports stumbling across a body. She also claims to have seen a mysterious nun-like figure watching her from the shadows. But during the subsequent search, no body is found. Due to the girl’s inebriated state and troubled history, the police are sceptical of her story. Only Detective Inspector Joe Plantagenet is inclined to believe her. Then a woman is reported missing, and Joe finds himself caught up in a complex investigation involving a production of The Devils at the local Playhouse. Could the play, with its shocking religious and sexual violence, have something to do with the woman’s disappearance? And is there really a connection with the tragic death of a young nun at the site many centuries before? As Joe is about to discover, nothing is as it first appears. - synopsis from author's website.
I do so enjoy Kate Ellis' work and especially this series that has just a touch of the supernatural about it in the form of ghosts and haunted buildings. This proved a very easy read with a few twists to spice things up. My only quibble was that it was rather short and so read very quickly. More of Joe P. please, Ms. Ellis!
Book 82: Redemption Department Q #3.
Author: Jussi Adler-Olsen, 2009. Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken, 2013.
Genre: Crime Fiction. Police Procedural. Nordic Noir.
Other Details: ebook. 640 pages.
Two boys, brothers, wake tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. Their kidnapper has gone, but soon he will return. Their bonds are inescapable. But there is a bottle and tar to seal it. Paper and a splinter for writing; blood for ink. A message begging for help. In Copenhagen's cold cases division Carl Mørck has received a bottle. It holds an old and decayed message, written in blood. It is a cry for help from two boys. Is it real? Who are they and why weren't they reported missing? Can they possibly still be alive? - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
It has been a few years since I read Book 2 in this series. I certainly feel the series has grown even stronger assisted by the group of misfits that make up Department Q. This cold case was very chilling and it developed in a way that kept me riveted.