A Darker Side
A
Jill Kennedy and DCI Max Trentham Mystery
Shirley
Wells
Soho Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-509-1 (1569475091)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-509-6 (9781569475096)
Publication Date: June 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy has given up police
work for a quiet life in the Lancashire village of Kelton Bridge, but
when Martin Hayden, a seventeen-year-old schoolboy, is murdered, DCI
Max Trentham, Jill’s ex-colleague, wants her back at work. As
they hunt Martin’s killer, they discover that nothing is as
it seems.
When the killer strikes again, Jill and Max find themselves in a
desperate race against time.
Review:
When a mother and son are murdered and two of the dead boy's classmates
disappear, forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy returns to work with her
old colleague, DCI Max Trentham, to solve the mystery in A Darker Side, the
second book in this series by Shirley Wells.
But Jill doesn't return easily or quickly and it takes all of Max's
cajoling and coaxing to get her involved. He believes that between them
they have the intelligence, knowledge, and astuteness to bring the case
to a close. The murdered boy was Martin Hayden, a "good boy" according
to his parents who lived with their three children in virtual seclusion
on the family farm. But appearances can be deceiving. He was a loner
with few friends who was ignored by his father, hated by his brother,
adored by his mother, and loved by his sister. His teachers and fellow
students are questioned by Jill and Max, but to no avail. Then Martin's
mother is found murdered, dead of multiple stab wounds. And still there
are no leads and all suspects have solid alibis. Later two other
schoolboys vanish. Jill cannot even begin to profile the culprit, or
even hazard a guess as to what these four people have in common.
Something in the case must break, and break soon, if Jill and Max are
going to find the two boys alive and nab the killer of a mother and son.
The author interweaves secrets of the past with the fervor of the
present investigation to great effect in A Darker Side. And there's nothing subtle about the title: everyone has a darker side of their life. The
suspense level is kicked up a notch when it's revealed that Max's sons
and the missing boys attend the same school. Now it's personal. But
it's also a passionate story in some ways, dealing with relationships
between family and friends, teachers and students, and ultimately
between Jill and Max. Though somewhat predictable in spots, A Darker Side is a
good mystery to read.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Darker Side and to Soho Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Into the Shadows
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), May 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1963-X (078671963X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1963-1 (9780786719631)
A Darker Side
Soho Press (Hardcover), June 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-509-1 (1569475091)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-509-6 (9781569475096)
Omnimystery keywords for A Darker Side ...
Location(s) referenced: Lancashire, England.
