Many thanks to Bookouture for the blog tour invite and ARC for ‘Buried Angels’ by Patricia Gibney. I am excited to be sharing my review:
Bubbles of cold sweat trickled down Faye’s spine. The hole wasn’t empty. Before she could turn and run, she caught the two sightless eyes staring up at her. Only then did she scream.
When Faye Baker discovers a fragile child’s skull behind the walls of her new home, Detective Lottie Parker is called to investigate. The house has been owned for years by the family of Faye’s boyfriend Jeff, so when Jeff starts acting suspiciously, Lottie wonders what he might be hiding…
Lottie doesn’t have long to dig deeper before a child’s bones are found by eleven-year-old Gavin on nearby railway tracks. The bones don’t match the small skull behind the walls, but Lottie can’t ignore the coincidence. Someone out there must be missing their loved ones and it’s up to her to put right a terrible wrong.
Unable to shake a feeling of foreboding, Lottie goes to speak to Faye, and discovers that she hasn’t turned up for work. When Faye’s body is found stuffed in the back of her car, Lottie needs to find out who wanted her to keep quiet.
As Lottie hunts for Faye’s killer, the case takes a darker turn when Gavin goes missing. Faye and Gavin are connected only by the grisly body parts they discovered. But who are these little victims and why has their killer come back? Can Lottie find the answers before another precious life is taken?
What does TWG think?
Nerves, nerves, where for art thou?! I seem to have lost my nerves…either that or they’ve been frayed! I honestly dont quite know what to say! I mean, the previous books in the series havent exactly been all calm and collective, yet this installment seems to have made a deal with the devil or something because it’s dark as hell!!!
There are a lot of things I can handle when it comes to the contents of psychological thrillers/crime novels, however bodies of youngsters is not really one of them! To say that the graphic descriptions surrounding that caught me off guard would be an understatement, however despite feeling quite uncomfortable, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The storyline reminded me of forbidden fruit; compelling, majestic, but incredibly dark.
Did I enjoy the storyline? Hell yes I did. Lottie Parker is one of my all time favourite detectives as I love the fiery and fierce elements to her personality alongside the uncertain, flawed human being elements which people forget that detectives are. I could tell that her usual bravado was slipping a little during this book because of recent events, but I felt that that added more warmth to her character and upped the ante in the relatbilty stakes.
In regards to the storyline itself, the suspense was outstanding! If possible, i could have easily cut the tension with a knife – there was so much grit to sink my teeth into, whether it made my stomach wary or not. It all just….worked.
I would be quite happy to keep reading the Lottie Parker series until my dying days, as they just keep on getting better and better. Patricia Gibney is a force of nature and her skills are one to watch and admire!
The Writing Garnet 