Families, memories and mayhem!

The Burning Time (DS McAvoy #12) by David Mark    

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Strap on your seatbelt and be prepared for a wild ride. Witchcraft and murder greet DS Aector McAvoy and his wife Roisin when they roll into Weardale Village, County Durham, for  an all expenses paid time for his estranged mother’s 70th birthday 

McCovey is recovering from injuries dealt to him in his last case. His partner DSU Trish Pharaoh is recovering in Taormina, Sicily. They’ve been off for three months

Aector’s gypsy wife Roisin is scared for him. Not on the physical level but the emotional level. Aector’s going to be going into enemy territory. His step/brother Felix bullied and abused him as a kid, boarding school with the upper eschelons finished him off.

Twists, turns, and family challenges dog McAvoy’s steps. Steps that become more intuition and gut feeling than anything else.

Aector is a caring, listening and compassionate soul, aptly demonstrated when he lies in the dirt with the seven year old child Delilah, who had been badly burned the night her father died. He lies on the opposite side of Ishmael’s grave that night talking to her. It’s raining. Delilah has gone to talk to her father. McAvoy doesn’t chastise her or startle her but lies with her and listens.

Complex and disturbing, the story explores old, hurtful  and harsh memories for McCavoy. There’s a missing policewoman DI Kate Seville, and a crazed local, Leonard Nightingale. The big question becomes whether Ishmael’s death was suicide or murder.

An almost gothic, satisfying read!

A SeVern House ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.