J.M. Hewitt

Alex Harvey is a man used to the finer things in life. Designer clothes, gourmet food & beautiful women have been staples for the London based PI. But that was before Elian Gould, the one that got away. Or, to be more precise, the one that ran away.

Elian & Alex met in Chernobyl (book #1) where she endured horrific abuse at the hands of a perverse captor. After barely escaping with their lives, Alex took her back to London. While Elian healed, something strange happened. He began to experience…feelings. If he didn’t know better, he’d almost think he’d fallen for the young woman. Then she disappeared.

In alternate chapters we catch up with Elian who has surfaced in Scheveningen, a resort town in Holland. Rumour has it this is where she’ll find a dangerous man from Chernobyl named Lev Aliyev & he needs to pay for the part he played in her ordeal.

Meanwhile, police in Scheveningen have a big problem. Someone is killing prostitutes in the red light district. The murders are unprecedented in this normally peaceful town & Inspector Erik Fons wonders if he’s up to the challenge. Then the attacks get personal.

Prostitution is legal there & the women get regular health checks from Dr. Bram Bastiaan, a long time fixture in the area. He does his best but lately he’s begun to wonder if he cares about them more than they care for themselves.

Another long time resident is Roland Van Brom, an ex-con with a mental disability. In historical chapters from 2000, we learn about the event that sent him to prison & why he returned after serving his time.

There’s a lot going on here & each of these characters takes turns as narrator. When Alex follows Elian to Scheveningen, the cast is in place & we get all perspectives as they play out their parts in the ensuing drama. It’s clear from the start there will be few winners. It’s a dark, gritty tale that highlights the desperate lives of those who had few advantages & little choice.

Despite Erik & Alex’s hunt for the killer, there’s surprisingly little tension. The investigation is almost incidental except it serves as a focal point that causes the characters to cross paths & weaves their story lines together. Ultimately, I had a hard time connecting to any of them & I’ve been pondering why. Maybe it was the abundance of narrators & story lines. I’d just begin to feel invested when the focus would switch. Another thing that struck me was some of the dialogue, particularly between Alex & Erik. Despite not being a cop, Alex seems to slip into the investigation rather easily & their conversations were oddly stilted at times.

Hewitt does a great job with the setting. Descriptions of the red light district & back alleys at night give the story a dark, atmospheric undertone that provides the perfect backdrop. I haven’t read book #1 in the series but plenty of history is given so this can be read as a stand alone. I initially grabbed this because I really enjoyed the author’s The Hunger Within, an engrossing story centred around the Troubles. Oddly, Reckoning Point is not connected to her home page on Goodreads where you’ll find the first Alex Harvey listed. If you’re in the mood for something down & dirty, give this a whirl.… (més)

When I initially started this book, it seemed to be a clear cut story of another person of the night turning to murderous antics and being pursued by the U.K.’s finest, in this case Carrie Flynn. This story ended up bending into something else completely. Which isn’t a bad thing. The story is intriguing as it is told from the viewpoints of the sociopathic murderer, and those that knew him best. It is definitely a tale of buried secrets if ever there was one, as everyone involved seems to have at least one possibly world shattering secret. The plot twists are subtly weaved into the plot, and there are no earth shattering revelations at the end of the line. It is a fun and different story that we follow and is a strong beginning in the this series for Carrie Flynn. I look forward to following the series, and would recommend the read to all that are willing. Galley supplied by Netgalley.… (més)

In 1981, Northern Ireland was on the brink of imploding under the weight of the Troubles. Bobby Sands was behind bars in the infamous Maze, organizing the hunger strike that would make him a martyr. Outside prison walls, it was business as usual. The British army patrolled the streets while Catholics & Protestants remained violently divided.

The story revolves around a small group of characters whose lives are forever altered by a single act.
Rose James has always been the quiet, obedient one. When she met Connor Dean, she couldn’t believe he was interested. As weeks turn into months, they continue to secretly meet.

Bronwyn Granger is a shadow of the girl she used to be. She was the feisty one when she & Rose were teenagers but 10 years of marriage has left her bitter & resigned to life in Newry. Her husband Danny sleeps all day & spends his nights doing things he won’t talk about.

One night as Connor meets Rose, he is viciously assaulted by a gang of men. The reason? Rose is Catholic & Connor is a Prod. For relatives on both sides, it’s the ultimate betrayal. In short order Rose is disowned by her family & living with Connor & his mother Mary.

When Bronwyn hears the news, she realizes what Danny has been up to & gives his name to police. Danny is thrown into the Maze where he joins his IRA brothers & “takes the blanket” as part of their campaign to draw attention to deplorable conditions & treatment at the hand of the Thatcher government. He expects Bronwyn to come to his rescue but strangely, the first visitor he gets is Mary. And she wants to make a deal.

The bargain they strike sets off a chain of events in their personal lives that mirrors what’s happening in the streets. As the story progresses, we learn the eerily similar backgrounds of Mrs. Dean & Mrs. James. The great irony is they are 2 women who should be able to understand each other & have sympathy for their children. But decades of ingrained suspicion across a religious chasm demands they be mortal enemies & neither can see past their own loss.

None of these characters are entirely likeable. But as their stories unfold, you realize they are victims of circumstance. There are many books that focus on the male perspective of this era but this one gives us a glimpse of what the women they left behind had to endure. Poverty, violence & loss of a son or husband were part of everyday life.

There is a genuine sense of place to this novel. Descriptions of the weather, crumbling rowhouses & prison life ensure readers will feel the persistent damp & fear. It’s an absorbing & poignant tale of people so battered by generations of violence, hope is a distance memory. It’s not an easy read but then neither were their lives. It makes you think about what people can get used to. If you grow up under a relentless reign of prejudice & hate, inevitably it will shape your view of “normal”. Recommend for fans of Stuart Neville.… (més)