The Raven Song by JM Dalgliesh

The Raven Song by JM Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

One song for the dying… sung by the dead…
When the body of a young woman is discovered at the home she shared with her disabled daughter, DI Tom Janssen and his team must investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

The woman was a single mother, well regarded and popular among the group she frequented, but she had a chequered past… a life she kept secret from those around her… a life that may, ultimately, have led to her death. Friends, past lovers, and confidants offer conflicting descriptions of the deceased… did anyone know her at all?

The team realise the daughter is missing and, away from her medication, the little girl’s life hangs in the balance. Unless the team can solve a seemingly calculated murder, an innocent life will be lost…

Set within the mysterious beauty of coastal Norfolk, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final shocking twist is revealed.

DI Tom Janssen is called in unexpectedly over the weekend when a young mother is found dead in her home – but her disabled daughter is missing. The child isn’t physically capable of leaving by herself and so the team is at a loss as to where she might be. The more they look into the young mother’s life, the more questions they have and still they find no leads on the child. Can they sort everything else before tragedy strikes again?

I’ve been really enjoying this Hidden Norfolk series and feel the author has definitely hit a good stride with these characters. While I can understand the pace of the mystery might be a little slow for more action-orientated readers, I personally really enjoy the grind of police procedural styles of mysteries. I feel that I can follow along with the investigators and try to solve the puzzle in time with them. Also, as this is a smaller town/more rural setting I feel this pace is a bit more realistic and logical.

I also really enjoy the team of characters in the police unit. They have all been working together for quite some time and so their professional relationship and I find the way they work so coherently together is a real pleasure to read. Readers also shouldn’t be too shy about picking this story up by itself to read. While there is obviously plenty of history between the main characters and a solid working relationship already in place the plot – and most importantly the murder mystery – is very well contained just to this book and so I feel readers can absolutely pick this book up and read it by itself without too much fuss.

A well written and well plotted small town murder mystery this is an enjoyable book and one I really enjoyed. Recommended.