A Sukey Reynolds Mystery Book 10
A seaside town, scrumptious ice cream… mysterious murder?
Sukey Reynolds is back from holiday, feeling happy and relaxed. She and a friend have been touring the French coast, enjoying the wine and cheese, and soaking up the sun in Brittany. She has barely unpacked her bags when she is sent back to the seaside but, this time, not for fun…
Sukey arrives at the charming coastal town of Clevedon, where a woman’s body has been washed up on the sandy beach. Her identity is a mystery, but Sukey is determined to find out how she ended up there and who exactly she is.
The police are at their wits’ end, and with no leads or suspects, Sukey decides to leaf through old cases. She is shocked to realise this woman is not the first to turn up on the shore and even finds a link between the cold cases: several of the murder suspects had the same decorative tattoo inked on their skin. After some further investigating, she realises the distinctive symbol means ‘death’.
Her superiors scoff at her theory, so it’s up to Sukey to prove them wrong and find the devious killer herself. From tattoo parlours to the music halls, she has no shortage of places to investigate. But can she uncover the true culprit, and the identity of the mystery woman, before they strike again?
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Review
As I said in my review about the previous boo,k; I felt like I lost the light-heartedness of the series. Yes, a police procedural can be light-hearted, because this series is catalogued as a coy mystery one.
I am happy to say, I saw a change. It was more like the books of the beginning of the series. I always have liked Sukey. That has not changed, but I feel like she cannot be herself anymore. In the beginning she was a SOCO, trying to solve the murders and not staying between the lines. She did what she felt was best and not really thinking about or taking in consideration what it could mean for her job or her career.
Now I feel like she has to put her foot or even her feet on the brake, because she is a DC now. She cannot follow her hunches anymore. She can share them, but often is a bit afraid to talk about them because she fears the reactions of her superiors or colleagues.
She seems happy with her career and the move, but I think she misses her former life even if she does not talk about it.
So yes, the atmosphere was better again, but in my opinion the revelations were a bit far fetched and it felt like they were written in order to find an end to the story and not because it was the normal flow.
I will miss Sukey and Fergus, but maybe it’s time to say goodbye?
If I leave these feelings out, I still can say the author, overall, wrote a great book. 4 stars
Thank you
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About the author
Betty Rowlands 1923-2020
Betty Rowlands burst onto the crime scene in her mid sixties by winning the Sunday Express / Veuve Clicquot Crime Short Story of the Year Competition which shows it’s never too late to start writing. Her success continued with her highly acclaimed Melissa Craig mysteries featuring a crime writer who solves mysteries in Gloucestershire. Her second series, The Sukey Reynolds Stories comprise of thirteen books, featuring Sukey Reynolds, a Scenes of Crime Officer who later becomes a detective. She lived in the heart of the Cotswolds, where her Melissa Craig mysteries are set, and then in Bristol which is closer to Sukey Reynolds patch, where she lived until her death on 29 July 2020, just a few months before her 97th birthday. She passed peacefully in the residential home that she called ‘home’. She will be greatly missed by her two surviving children, her four grandchildren, six great grandchildren, other family members, her friends and you, her many readers. The resurgence in interest in her Melissa Craig and Sukey Reynolds books in her last years gave her immense pleasure. She loved to receive emails from her fans knowing that her writing was being so enjoyed. Betty may no longer be with us but Melissa and Sukey are still there solving those mysteries. Keep on reading!
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Book Link
Amazon : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Clevedon-Beach-absolutely-addictive-ebook/dp/B07W5PP47Z/
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