Katie Maguire knows that in this part of Ireland, the past can never stay buried… In Blarney, Cork, an old millworker’s cottage guards its secrets. In 1921, a mother, father and their two young children disappeared from this house. Now their mummified bodies have been discovered under the floorboards. As DS Katie Maguire investigates a ninety-five-year-old murder, the flames of old family … flames of old family rivalries flare up once more … and Katie is caught in the crossfire.
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This author comes up with a new way of writing action packed books that you don’t want to put down
4 and 1 / 2 stars
**For the faint of heart—There is graphic violence and torture in this novel.
Detective Superintendent and her team start this novel with two cases. Little do they know that it is going to turn into a matter of three cases.
Four people and their two dogs are found under the floorboards of an old building that is being renovated. The people are almost mummified and Katie suspects that the bodies are very old. The forensic anthropologist confirms this and that the bodies are ninety-five years old. The neighbor tells them a story about her neighbors, the Langtry’s. Her mother and grandmother knew them well. They disappeared one day never to be seen again. The bodies due turn out to be theirs.
At the same time, Katie and her team are desperately trying to catch Bobby Quilty. He is a very bad man who specializes in violence, torture, smuggling and all sorts of other nefarious deeds. The police know it is him, but the accusations slide of Quilty like he is made of Teflon. When a police officer gets killed and another gets injured while trying to arrest one of Quilty’s cigarette sellers, Katie becomes more determined than ever to catch the man.
When a raid goes very badly, and two of Katie’s good friends are captured by Quilty, Katie suspects that he must have been tipped off. She doesn’t know who the person is, but they have to work at the police station. Now she has three cases to work.
Purely by accident Katie witnesses a scene that gives a clue to the identity of the rat in her station. Meanwhile Quilty’s followers are dropping like flies – all shot to death.
Katie joins up with Alan, a former police officer from Belfast who has a major bone to pick with Quilty. Together they track Quilty’s movements. Katie sets up the person suspected of passing information to Quilty. The person falls for the bait. They follow Quilty to Belfast and in an exciting and action-packed “raid” Katie and Alan move in on Quilty.
Mostly things turn out well for Katie and her team.
This book is very well written and plotted. It is written in a linear fashion. That is to say one event closely follows another in a straight line. It is very action-packed and violent. I like Katie for the most part, but it irritates me just a little that she goes off on her own sometimes without too much thinking or backup. She’s kind of a rogue cop in some ways. But she gets the job done, that’s for sure. I also like the members of her team; they get along well with Katie and each other. They respect Katie for her original thinking and take-no-holds attitude.
Graham Masterton is an exceptional writer. I truly enjoy his books and will continue to read them for as long as he writes. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Katie Maguire series.