Sharon Bolton returns with her creepiest standalone yet, following a young cop trying to trace the disappearances of a small town’s teenagers. Florence Lovelady’s career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Grassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago in a small village in Lancashire. Like something out of a nightmare, the victims were buried alive. Florence was able to solve … was able to solve the mystery and get a confession out of Larry before more children were murdered, and he spent the rest of his life in prison.
But now, decades later, he’s dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves. Is someone copying the original murders? Or did she get it wrong all those years ago? When her own son goes missing under similar circumstances, the case not only gets reopened… it gets personal.
In master of suspense Sharon Bolton’s latest thriller, readers will find a page-turner to confirm their deepest fears and the only protagonist who can face them.
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Keeps you on the edge of your seat! Did not want to put it down!
Spooky and scary, great characters, eerie story
This is like one of those old-fashioned dark and twisted horrors like you would have had in the sixties which is fine but I would’ve liked to see something a little bit different. Pretty good storyline though a bit predictable.
The Craftsman is Sharon Bolton’s latest terrifying standalone suspense novel. The protagonist, Florence Lovelady starts out in 1969 in Lancashire, UK working in police department where the force is dominated by men. Some teenagers disappear and they end up being found in buried alive in coffins. Florence Lovelady begins to help with the investigation but being a woman she is not always treated the same. But she couldn’t be ignored because she was able to look at things differently proving she was a very good investigator.
Florence Lovelady is such a strong female character. She is tough and persistent in order to make it but she couldn’t come off too strong. I admired her for hanging in there with a tough profession especially during that time period when she the only woman around. The story shifts ahead 30 years to 1999 and someone else disappears under similar circumstances. Had Florence Lovelady caught the right man all those years ago or is it a copycat?
I love the short chapters and the pacing of the novel was perfect. The build-up to the ending was amazing and the truth is carefully masked right up to the conclusion. My interest was held throughout and I couldn’t wait to see where the story led next. With hints in the story of witches and Freemasons, the supernatural aspect brings in another level of interest for readers.
I loved this book so much. Definitely 5 stars for me…can’t wait for the next Sharon Bolton novel. Thanks to the author and Minotaur Books for providing me a copy to review. Highly recommended for those who love dark terrifying thrillers.
(audiobook)
4.5 Stars!
“The Craftsman is the story of women and witches. Of the children, we love and must protect. And of the men who fear us.” -Sharon Bolton
This was a suspenseful, mysterious and creepy read. Florence Lovelady is trying to find her way in a man’s world when she takes on a case that makes her career and changes her life. All the twists and turns in this story connected really well and I was not expecting it to end the way it did. There were moments that lulled a bit but then it picked back up again. The narrator never lost me or caused me to lose my focus. I truly did not know what to expect from this and was very surprised. I cannot wait to get my own copy of this and re-read it with the lights on of course.
Wow, this is a great book! If you like mystery or suspense, with a little bit of witchery mixed in, you will love this. It starts in 1999, at the funeral of coffin maker Larry Grassbrook. Larry has spent the past 30 years in prison after confessing to a series of teen murders. We are then sent back to 1969 and relive the time the murders were committed. At the end we are brought back to 1999, and questions about whether the right man was convicted. There are many twists and turns and I loved that it kept me guessing until the very end. The further I got into the book, the better it was. I had a little over 100 pages left and I couldn’t put it it down. The last few suspense books I read were good, but the endings were sort of flat. The Craftsman has a great ending! I recommend this one!
Wow !! What to say about the Craftsman
Chilling, haunting, an ending you won’t see coming .
This book will stay with me for a long time.
There is murder, there is witches, there is family, there is mystery and above all there is The Craftsman.
Get your copy, lock the doors, settle in for a great read.
My favourite Sharon Bolton novel thus far! Unputdownable!
The Craftsman “is the story of women and witches, of the children we love and must protect and of the men that fear us”.
30 years ago children were disappearing and being buried alive. WPC Florence Lovelady solved the case and the murderer was sentenced to life behind bars. She returns to attend the serial killer’s funeral with her teenage son Ben who becomes a target of evil forces all these years later.
Is the past repeating itself?
Did they convict the wrong man?
A dark and chilling mystery with a taste of witchcraft and the supernatural.
Loved it!
/ 5 rounded up
The Craftsman by Sharon J. Bolton wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I really really liked it!
What it’s about: WPC Florence Lovelady, known to almost everyone as “Flossie” due to her red hair, gets her career made in the town of Sabden in Lancashire by putting away a child killer who likes to bury children alive. But when strange events start happening again after his death, it makes Florence wonder if she actually did get the correct person sentenced to life in prison.
The book starts in the present then skips back to the past and catches up with the present again. The past was interesting to read about since it was all about Lovelady’s career in Sabden and how she handled the case of the missing children. It was set in 1969 and there was so much discrimination against Lovelady and shoddy police work that it had me rolling my eyes almost non-stop. Just think lots of douchy male cops that were complete idiots when it came to finding the missing kids and their murderer.
I loved Florence and she was such a smart character. I also loved all the spooky witchy vibes. Towards the end of the book I was thoroughly freaked out to the point that certain noises were making me jumpy. The Craftsman is on the longer side but it reads incredibly fast. I was hooked right from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down.
I thought the ending did leave a few unanswered questions, but being this is the first of a trilogy I expect those questions will be answered in the upcoming books. It doesn’t end in a cliffhanger though, I am just curious about certain things.
Final Thought: Besides The Craftsman I have only read one other book by Bolton so far – Dead Woman Walking – and I absolutely loved it. I love Bolton’s quick wit that she inserts into her novels, and there are so many moments that I laugh out loud while reading.. I am also a huge of how she writes and the flow of her books. She is already one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to read her backlog ASAP! Highly recommend The Craftsman although some may think it starts out on the slow side.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sharon Bolton is one of those writers that you have to clear the decks for. When one of her titles hits my kindle I have to choose when I will begin because I will be reading steadily until I finish. I can’t start a Bolton novel and get busy and then have to put it aside for a day or two and get back to it. You can’t start one before bedtime thinking you will just knock of 10 pages before you turn in. It doesn’t work that way. The combination of interesting characters and perfect pacing (neither tiring you out nor leaving room to put it aside for later) is irresistible. But she has another skill that often goes under appreciated and makes her novels so compelling. Shirley Jackson knew it. Who could read that whatever walks in Hill House walks alone and not want to open that door. Stephen King knows it. How can one read that sometimes an accident can be a lonely woman’s best friend and not want to know what happened?
Sharon Bolton knows it too, but she doesn’t do it so much with first lines. What she does is start her novels with a “holy crap!” moment that compels the reader to find out what happened or what is about to happen. Whether it is with a woman finding something awful when digging on her property, a group of people trapped in a rapidly and helplessly descending hot air balloon being followed by a man in a vehicle with a high powered rifle, or in this case a funeral during which a line of people walk up and spit on the coffin. There is a story there that you have to know. You just have to purchase the ticket and get on the ride.
The Craftsman has it all. A compelling beginning. A story set in the past as well as in the future. Surprises and twists. An interesting exploration of what it was like for a woman to be an investigative police officer in the 1960’s. Weird northern English towns with centuries of history. (Not-so) Secret societies’ powerful influence. A crime spree where the manner of execution is unimaginably horrific.
And witches.
One of my favorite books of the year and perfect for this time of the year when it starts getting cold. Chilling like being buried alive in the cold earth. Yes, it has that too.
Check it out. 5 stars.