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It's easy to feel isolated in a place as rugged and remote as the Falkland Islands.  An archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, the area is home to more birds than people.  And yet, when a Falklander goes missing, the loss is felt keenly by the residents of the islands' close-knit communities.  When the individual is a child—the third to disappear in as many years—it's more than a tragedy.  It's an indication that a serial killer may be lurking nearby, hunting for young boys.  

Still reeling after the accidental death of her own sons three years ago, Catrin Quinn has cut herself off from the people in her town.  A recluse, she ventures out only to care for the wildlife protected by the Falkland Conservation, the organization for which she works.  Bitter and angry, the 34-year-old lets only one person come anywhere near her heart—her ex-lover, Callum Murray.  She refuses to engage or trust anyone else.  People will only let you down; Catrin's learned that lesson in the most traumatic way possible.

When a 3-year-old boy disappears while picnicking with his family in Stanley, Catrin is as heartsick as anyone else.  In such a dangerous landscape, the child could easily have drowned.  Only, it looks as if something much more sinister has happened.  Suspicion falls on Catrin, whose grief—most would agree—has certainly driven her crazy enough to kidnap a toddler.  The recluse harbors secrets, it's true, but she knows she had nothing to do with the boys' disappearances.  Doesn't she? 

As Catrin struggles to come to grips with her own impending madness, she becomes obsessed with finding the missing children.  Callum and Catrin's former best friend, Rachel Grimwood, are hiding as many secrets as Catrin.  As the search continues for a missing boy, both will have to confront their own pain and unseen suffering.  Hidden deep in their broken souls, one of the three—perhaps all of the three—holds the key to finding young Archie West.  Can they pull the truth out of their damaged psyches in time to save an innocent child?  Or will he become the third victim of a ruthless, unknown killer stalking children in the beautiful but deadly Falklands?

I'd never heard of English crime writer Sharon Bolton (formerly S.J. Bolton) before picking up her 8th novel, Little Black Lies, back in March.  Except for her newest book, which hasn't come out in the U.S. yet, I've now read everything she's ever published.  That should tell you something about how mesmerizing I found Little Black Lies.  From the beginning, the story grabbed me, pulling me into the bleak but utterly compelling world of Catrin Quinn.  The Falklands make a stunning and intriguing backdrop to the tale, adding a gothic element to an already otherworldly setting.  Its treacherous isolation makes the novel even more eerie and suspenseful.  Add in complex characters; solid writing; and a twisty, brilliantly-plotted mystery; voilá, I was hooked from the first page to the last.  This book kept me guessing—not just until the last chapter but until the very last sentence.  If you like a good mystery/suspense, you can't go wrong with Sharon Bolton.  Although Little Black Lies is my favorite of hers, all of her novels have sucked me in and kept me up reading way, way, way past my bedtime.  She's that good.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of the Shetland mystery series by Ann Cleeves)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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After her husband dies in a New York City car accident, Anna Pigeon flees urban life for its complete opposite.  As an enforcement ranger at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in the west Texas wilderness, the 39-year-old widow now spends more time communing with nature than anything—or anyone—else.  And it suits her just fine.

While hiking in the park one day, Anna comes across the dead body of a park ranger who appears to have been mauled to death by a mountain lion.  Shocked by the brutality of the apparent attack, Anna can't quite believe what she's seeing.  She didn't know Sheila Drury well, but she does know animals and this "attack" looks staged.  Try as she might to convince her superiors to look into the suspicious death, however, Anna gets exactly nowhere.  Refusing to back off, she launches her own investigation.  Between Drury's push to open the park to the public and her clandestine relationship with another employee, it isn't tough to find people who may have had motive to kill the ranger.  Who actually did the deed?  Anna knows Drury's killer isn't a wild cat but a human who is more vicious and dangerous than any mountain lion.  The question is, can Anna find the murderer before he or she finds Anna?  

     

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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On a peaceful autumn night, Ted Systead and his dad are camping in Montana's ruggedly beautiful Glacier National Park.  Encounters with wildlife are a possibility, of course, but one against which the men have taken every precaution.  They're both stunned, then, when a giant grizzly attacks their campsite.  Fourteen-year-old Ted freezes in terror as his father is dragged away and mauled to death.  It's a violent, tragic, and traumatic experience that will haunt him forever.  

Twenty-three years later, Ted is back in Glacier.  As a special agent for the National Park Service, he's been called to Montana to investigate a death with startling similarities to his father's.  Like Jonathan Systead, Victor Lance is dead from a vicious encounter with a bear.  The difference?  Lance, a 27-year-old druggie from Martin City, Montana, had been tied to a tree, presumably exposed to the park's dangers on purpose.  Who could have committed such a cold-hearted act?  However unsavory the man might have been, he didn't deserve to die so horrifically.  Or did he?  

Paired with Monty Harris, an unassuming Park police officer, Ted is tasked with finding Victor's killer.  Not an easy job, considering locals want nothing to do with a nosy outsider.  Ted's perseverance helps him peel back the shocking layers of a case that chills him to the bone.  It doesn't help that old memories are creeping in, throwing him off his game.  As he creeps closer to discovering Lance's killer, he's putting himself in the line of fire.  Will Ted, like his father before him, leave Glacier only in a body bag?  

Although The Wild Inside, a debut novel by Christine Carbo, is billed as a mystery/suspense, it's much more of the former than the latter.  If you're looking for a high-octane thriller, this might not be the book for you.  What it does have is a vivid, intriguing setting.  The surreal beauty of Glacier National Park comes alive under Carbo's hand, as does the unpredictable state of nature in general.  The other characters pale in comparison to the vibrant personality of the Park.  An introspective fella, Ted lives mostly inside his head; Monty does too, which makes them not the most dynamic pair.  Carbo's style is more tell than show, which also makes The Wild Inside feel overly long and a little dull.  Although I enjoyed the read overall, I never came to a point in the story when I couldn't have set the book down and walked away.  I definitely would have liked more suspense from this one, as well as characters who were at least as exciting as their surroundings.  Still, I'm interested to see where this series goes.  Even though the next installment is narrated by Monty, who's not the most lively of guys, I'll definitely be giving it a go.

(Readalikes:  The national park setting reminded me of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon mystery series)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, blood/gore, and mature subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

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As the daughter of a well-known senator infamous for being both a Mormon and a Democrat, Summer Knight has developed a thick skin.  The 24-year-old couldn't survive life in the spotlight without it.  She knows the world of politics is cutthroat, but what she hasn't quite developed is the capacity to forgive those who've sought to ruin her father's career.  Especially when they're church members who profess to be kind and loving, only to turn on one of their own when he dares to express unpopular opinions.  After an especially humiliating event, Summer decides she's done with the small-mindedness, done with the judgment, done with the LDS church altogether.

(Readalikes:  Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for sexual innuendo and (non-graphic) references to mature subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Pride & Politics from the generous folks at Covenant Communications.  Thank you!

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