Suspense packs Ann Cleeves’ ‘Shetland’ series finale
“Wild Fire” by Ann Cleeves, Minotaur, 416 pages.
Fans of the series probably already know that Ann Cleeves has declared this the final Shetland novel, which adds suspense over and above the story of a family of newcomers who have now had two locals found hanged in their barn. The first was a suicide — the former owner of the property, fallen on hard times — but the second is clearly murder. As Jimmy Perez and his team run down rumors about the victim, a nanny with a colorful reputation., Cleeves treats us to one last island travelogue with Sunday tea dances, craggy coastal vistas and a subplot about Fair Isle textile patterns.
“A Forgotten Place” by Charles Todd. William Morrow, 368 pages.
World War I army nurse Bess Crawford, concerned about her former patients’ reentry at home after the war, travels to an isolated village in Wales. She finds more to worry about there than depressed veterans, with bodies washing ashore and a secretive community unwilling to bring in the police.
The mother-son writing duo of Charles Todd takes time with the story and builds a rich, layered, almost Gothic confection, all stormy coastlines and hot water bottles and lambing ewes, with a sense of isolation that feels worlds away from our super-connected daily life. Unplug and enjoy.
“Secret Undertaking” by Mark de Castrique. Poisoned Pen, 274 pages.
This series set in Western North Carolina stays on my recommended list because of the characters’ easy humor with each other and the loving picture it paints of small-town life here.
On the same day, a state official is attacked at an Apple Festival parade and a convenience store owner is fatally shot. There are obvious links, which uncover a scheme of large-scale food stamp fraud. Local undertaker/deputy Barry Clayton has a strong feeling there’s also a connection with a couple who came to him to plan a funeral. Their puzzling requests are explained when he learns they’re in the witness protection program and also planning some sharp moves with life insurance. Not everyone in witness protection is an innocent bystander, it turns out.
“The Boy at the Keyhole” by Stephen Giles, Hanover Square, 304 pages.
If you’ve been missing Ruth Rendell’s uneasy strolls through the twists of the human mind, pick up this story of 9-year-old Samuel, chafing under the stern care of housekeeper Ruth while his mother travels. Samuel counts the days his mother has been gone (113 when the book opens) and with details suggested by a school friend with a macabre turn of mind, he weaves a tale of murder with Ruth as the villain and his mother as the victim — the only explanation he can see for his loving mother to leave him for so long with only the occasional postcard for comfort.
Never straying from Samuel’s internal narrative, Stephen Giles manages to show us how the boy doggedly reshapes every fact to fit his theory. It’s chilling, claustrophobic and sometimes agonizing to watch.
This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Suspense packs Ann Cleeves’ ‘Shetland’ series finale."