In the small, sleepy town of Idyll, Connecticut, Police Chief Thomas Lynch assists police officer Michael Finnegan to uncover clues to his sister’s disappearance two decades ago.Charleston, Massachusetts, 1972: Rookie cop Michael Finnegan gets a call from his mother. His youngest sister, Susan, has disappeared, the same sister who ran away two years earlier. Anxious not to waste police resources, … police resources, Finnegan advises his family to wait and search on their own. But a week turns into two decades, and Susan is never found.
Idyll, Connecticut, 1999: In the woods outside of town, a young woman’s corpse is discovered, and Detective Finnegan seems unusually disturbed by the case. When Police Chief Thomas Lynch learns about Finnegan’s past, he makes a bargain with his officer: He will allow Finnegan to investigate the body found in the woods–if Finnegan lets the bored Lynch secretly look into the disappearance of his sister.
Both cases reveal old secrets–about the murder, and about the men inside the Idyll Police Station and what they’ve been hiding from each other their whole careers.
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A perfect blend of mystery and wry humor, this terrific series just keeps getting better. Chief Lynch is an utterly original character, and Stephanie Gayle has created a world I can’t wait to return to time and again.
In Idyll Hands, Chief Thomas Lynch’s boredom is the reader’s gain. The quiet town of Idyll, Connecticut, has a few open wounds, and our man Lynch has the time to get to the bottom of things. Dark stories, charmingly told.
Thomas Lynch, the gay chief of police in the small town of Idyll, returns for the third book in the fabulous Idyll mystery series and this one might just be my favorite. Idyll Hands has the signature humor of this funny series and introduces a new point of view character, Detective Michael Finnegan (or Finny), who likes to read, has 3 ex-wives, and is keeping a big secret about his past. I’m a huge fan of the taciturn Chief Lynch but now Finny has my heart too. The banter between Lynch, Finny, and and the other officers at the station reminds me of The Office (only with police) but they also have to solve not one but two cold cases involving a missing girl and murder. Author Stephanie Gayle deftly balances humor, the highs and lows of small town life, and richly developed characters, with the unraveling of these two dark mysteries. Idyll Hands is a compelling police procedural that will leave you excited to read more of this series!
Stephanie Gayle doesn’t gently lead you into the town of Idyll, Connecticut. Rather, she sucks you in through a vortex, crafting a remarkably detailed story that weaves the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl around small-town politics, prejudices, and secrets. Gayle grabs your attention from the first page and dares you to quit reading.
This is such a great series! If you haven’t seen my earlier reviews of book one and book two, check them out. This is definitely a series that builds, and I think it would be tough to jump into it via this third book. That said it’s more than worth the back-reading. The books are easy to read – which is not at ALL to say that they are simplistic, just that the writing and pacing are so well managed that they are easy to fall into and burn through. I keep thinking the series can’t possibly get more engaging, and then with each new book I find myself grinning and calling out a mental “well done!” to the talented Stephanie Gayle…
In this latest installment, Chief of Police Thomas Lynch finds himself caught up in the backstory of Idyll’s police department. The resultant tale is a back-and-forth between Lynch and his part-time detective Michael Finnegan. Finny’s at the heart of this one, and it was fascinating to see him fully develop as a character. He’s played a relatively minor role in the previous books – present and part of the gang, but not a fully-fleshed out character in his own right. The insight into his character and personality were very interesting and I’m curious to see if he’ll remain a larger player or if it’s Gayle’s intent to flesh out the entire department in this way. If so, I hope she picks Mrs. Dunsmore for her next focus – the woman appears to underpin nearly everything in Idyll with a quiet, behind-the-scenes, grace that I just KNOW belies an inner core of steel… The other members of the department are also slowly but surely rounding themselves out into major players in the life of the town. Lewis Wright is another fascinating supporting player who is becoming more human with each book and his family drama promises an unsuspected slant in the coming books.
The mix of mystery and history in this one was a fun spin and gave the series a fresh direction. Not that it needed one, but it was a pleasant switch-up all the same. Gayle is doing a really great job managing expectations with this series, keeping things interesting and coming at her characters and mysteries from unexpected directions. It’s a nice way to keep things interesting and also a smart plan for what will hopefully prove to be a long-term series. For a small town, Idyll has more than its share of secrets and I for one cannot wait to see which are divulged next!
Thank you to Seventh Street Books for my review copy.