Sleeping Beauties

Tom Reynolds and his wife Louise are visiting his former boss, Sean McGuinness and his wife, June when he gets a call about the discovery of a woman’s body.  Arriving at the scene, pathologist Moya Chambers informs Reynolds and his DS Ray Lennon that the body had been there at least a year. Mark Dunne, an IT specialist is also on scene due to his knowledge of the area.  He informs the detectives that a plant found on the victim’s burial site is not native to the area.  It hat been planted on the grave.  He then draws Reynolds’ attention to the glade in which the body was found.  There are five other mounds with the same plant growing on them.

Five bodies, but what of the girl currently missing?  Where is Fiona Holland?  It would appear that they have a serial killer in their hands.

At the hospital next day, Moya shows Reynolds something unusual.  Each body had a charm bracelet with it.  Linda McCarn, a psychologist, suggests that the killer is a strong male, thirty-five plus.  Reynolds points to the religious symbolism of the location of the graves.

A couple of potential suspects turn out to be negative for Reynolds.  Meanwhile to the south, Lennon and DS Laura Brennan have discovered a cottage where a potential suspect could have hidden one of the victims.  Back in Dublin, Reynolds has received a note telling him that the writer had taken the most recent victim, as well as the others.

And then DS Brennan goes missing.  Reynolds’ Superintendent, Joe Kennedy, thinks that it’s just a daft girl recovering from a party somewhere.  Reynolds is not impressed and has his team go into a search mode for her.

Can Reynolds’ team find Brennan before she falls victim of the serial killer?  And what of the other missing woman?  Is she dead or still hidden somewhere?  Author Jo Spain’s thriller is another page turner leaving the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series.