The Puppet Maker by Jenny O'Brien - #BookReview #BlogTour

... The rhyme burrowed through his mind, following the trail of ancient tracks and tunnels forged by countless repetitions, all on the knee of his mam, her golden web of finely spun hair tickling his cheek as she sang ditty after ditty in her breathy, slightly off-key voice.

Mammy had sewn too, he remembered, licking the end of the string before twisting it between grubby fingers and aiming at the large eye of the sailor's needle. She'd knit and sew in the evenings, while they grouped together in their cosy home, the perfect little family. As a memory it was one of his favourites, but then he didn't have that many to compare it to...

***

The scrap of paper looked as if it had been torn from a diary. The words written in faint pencil. The letters rounded, almost childlike: Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me. 

 

When Detective Alana Mack arrives at Clonabee police station, in a small Irish seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin, she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old girl sobbing on the floor. Abandoned in a local supermarket, the child tells them her name is Casey. All Alana and her team have to go on is a crumpled note begging for someone to look after her little girl. This mother doesn't want to be found. 

 

Still recovering from a terrible accident that has left Alana navigating a new life as a wheelchair user, Alana finds herself suddenly responsible for Casey while trying to track down the missing mother and solve another missing person's case… a retired newsagent who has seemingly vanished from his home.

 

Forced to ask her ex-husband and child psychiatrist Colm for help, through Forensic Art Therapy, Alana discovers that whatever darkness lies behind the black windows in Casey's crayon drawing, the little girl was terrified of the house she lived in. 

 

Then a bag of human remains is found in a bin, and a chilling link is made – the DNA matches Casey's. 

 

Alana and her team must find the body and make the connection with the missing newsagent fast if she is to prevent another life from being taken. But with someone in her department leaking confidential details of the investigation to the media, can Alana set aside her emotional involvement in this case and find Casey’s mother and the killer before it's too late? 

 

Heart-pounding and totally addictive, The Puppet Maker is the first in the Detective Alana Mack series that will have fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons and LJ Ross racing through the pages late into the night. 

***

The Puppet Maker is the first book in a series featuring Detective Alana Mack. This is defintiely a series which I intend to continue with.

The main character, who calls herself Alan, offers something a little different to the usual detective trope. She is disabled and confined to a wheelchair, and observing the way in which she struggles to delegate tasks to other members of her team was interesting. She clearly wanted to be at the front line but has to accept her own limitations and vulnerabilities. She was an interesting character and one that I look forward to getting to know better.

It was well written, and I enjoyed the dual narrative as it switched between Alan and one of the other characters, Penny who is at the crux of the story. The author understands her characters well, and it is this that makes them so easy to engage with.

I felt the plot had a cinematic quality and could well imagine this being adapted into a television series. Whilst there were some gruesome elements to the story (it is a murder story after all) it never felt gratuitous and the author handled her plot with intelligence and skill.

Set in an area just outside of Dublin the author portrayed the environment well. 

It is an excellent start to the series and I look forward to reading more from this author.

ISBN: 978 1805080268

Publisher:  Storm Publishing 

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  296 (paperback)

About the Author:

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers. 

In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off.

She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

Jenny is represented by Nicola Barr of The Bent Agency and published by Storm Publishing and HQ Digital (Harper Collins).

(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Reads)

(all opinions are my own)