Reviewed by George Hollingsworth
A skeleton is unearthed in a suburban Auckland backyard. A woman disappears. A teenager is abandoned.
These events change the trajectory of Tova Tan's life, which she is slowly rebuilding after her involvement in a traumatic kidnapping. Reluctantly, she agrees to look after the teenager, Lonnie, while police track down the girl's mother.
Hours turn into days. When a link is made between the missing woman and the body in the garden, Tova is drawn into the police murder investigation and once more comes into contact with Detective Finn McIntosh, a man she thought she would never see again..
This is the second Tova Tan Mystery written by Jeannie McLean and she has certainly raised the bar on the engrossing first offering. The events of the first tale are only hinted at here but with just enough detail that the books won't necessarily have to be read in order. Also just enough to encourage anyone who missed the first novel to want to know more.
An extremely well constructed piece with plenty of back story sitting with the characters giving the opportunity of red herrings and secondary plotlines. The drawing of the main characters was perfect, creating empathy for some and revulsion for others.
Ms Tan certainly lands up in some serious scrapes, this one the discovery of the remains of a murdered teenager, but seems capable of looking after herself (mostly) and sometimes thinking ahead of the police investigating the case.
As with the first tale, Caught Between, the pace is a perfect build through to the ‘final showdown’. A thoughtful wrap-up concludes with the opportunity for another Tova Tan Mystery as there is still family business to clear up. This reader certainly hopes so.
Another great read from Jeannie McLean, keep them coming please.
This review was first published in FlaxFlower reviews, which focuses on in-depth reviews of New Zealand books of all kinds, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Flaxflower founder and editor Bronwyn Elsmore.
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