The Craftsman – Sharon Bolton
Devoted father or merciless killer?
His secrets are buried with him.
Florence Lovelady’s career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago. Like something from our worst nightmares the victims were buried…ALIVE.
Larry confessed to the crimes; it was an open and shut case. But now he’s dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves.
Did she get it wrong all those years ago?
Or is there something much darker at play?
My huge thanks to Tracey Fenton at Compulsive Readers and to the publishers, Trapeze, for my review copy and a chance to join the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour.
Breaking from my traditional review format to put my conclusion first…The Craftsman is a brilliant, brilliant read – buy it!
Now I need to try to explain why I loved this book as much as I did. Returning visitors to Grab This Book will know that I like my thrillers to have a dark edge to them. A killer that buries his victims alive is certainly a dark twist – add in a juicy helping of the supernatural (we have witches people, witches!) and we have a book which I read in a single day. Could not put it down!
We first meet Florence Lovelady in 1999. She is attending the funeral of a killer she helped to identify many years before. Florence is now a police officer in The Met but she has returned to Lancashire where her police career started and to the scene of her first big case. After the funeral is over and after chasing the ghosts from her memories Florence returns to her former home and makes a shocking and chilling discovery.
Readers are reeling from the revelation and working out the implications of her discovery when Sharon Bolton whisks us back in time to 1969. It is 30 years in the past where the majority of The Craftsman takes place – WPC Lovelady is thrust into the thick of a missing persons investigation and finds herself propelled from beat duties to the investigation team.
Lovelady has an analytical mind and a combination of hard work and sharp thinking help her drive the investigation forward, despite having to counter the sexism and superior attitudes of her older, male colleagues. She will encounter witches, freemasons and a killer determined to ensure their secrets remain secret.
The Craftsman is wonderfully written, the story flows at a cracking pace and I just wanted to keep reading. As I said at the start of this review…buy this book it is brilliant.
The Craftsman is published by Trapeze and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Craftsman-most-chilling-book-youll-ebook/dp/B073WZTZXT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544307762&sr=8-1&keywords=the+craftsman+sharon+bolton
