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A review by bgg616
Sleeping Beauties by Jo Spain
4.0
This is my third Jo Spain book, and I am not reading them in order. Unfortunately, despite being enormously popular in Ireland, and a great Irish crime writer, her books have not yet been released in the U.S. Inspector Tom Reynolds is an ethical, and competent member of the Garda Siochana, a police force that in not as efficient, and free of corruption as the public believes. Tom has turned down the position of Chief Superintendent of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, when his close friend Sean McGuinness retired to care for his wife with early onset Alzheimer's. Tom's new boss, Chief Superintendent Joe Kennedy, is an idiot.
The novel opens with the discovery of a woman's body at the monastic site of Glendalough. Soon multiple bodies are discovered and the Garda realize they have a probably serial killer. However. the Chief Superintendent is reluctant, initially, to accept the possibility. At the same time, the 18-year old daughter of a well off couple in County Meath has gone missing.
Reynolds is a conflicted figure as is almost always to case in police procedurals. He has a devoted wife, Louise, but with Sean McGuinness gone, few confidents. This is a novel in which dogged pursuit of all possible leads is necessary, even when the Chief Superintendent doesn't support the direction of their inquiries.
Spain writes interesting and compelling crime novels without irrelevant details, and misleading tangents. They provide the level of accurate cultural context that provide an excellent sense of place. I will continue reading this series.
The novel opens with the discovery of a woman's body at the monastic site of Glendalough. Soon multiple bodies are discovered and the Garda realize they have a probably serial killer. However. the Chief Superintendent is reluctant, initially, to accept the possibility. At the same time, the 18-year old daughter of a well off couple in County Meath has gone missing.
Reynolds is a conflicted figure as is almost always to case in police procedurals. He has a devoted wife, Louise, but with Sean McGuinness gone, few confidents. This is a novel in which dogged pursuit of all possible leads is necessary, even when the Chief Superintendent doesn't support the direction of their inquiries.
Spain writes interesting and compelling crime novels without irrelevant details, and misleading tangents. They provide the level of accurate cultural context that provide an excellent sense of place. I will continue reading this series.