It's my turn on the BlogBlitz Retribution by Christina O'Reilly.
About the Author
Christina is a writer and professional proofreader living in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Four of her short stories have been published, one in a magazine and the others in anthologies produced by Page and Blackmore, Rangitawa Publishing and most recently in Fresh Ink: Voices from Aotearoa, produced by Cloud Ink Press.
As well as being a finalist in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards, Christina’s first crime novel Into the Void was longlisted for the 2019 Michael Gifkins Memorial Prize for an unpublished novel. Follow Christina on Facebook
About the book
A young woman has been murdered on Ripton Beach. DSS ‘Archie’ Baldrick and DC Ben Travers eventually identify the body as that of Lucy Martin, who has been renting a bach in the area. Her husband, Oliver, seems to know very little about his wife or her background.
What was Lucy hiding? Why has she no family or friends? As the number of suspects mounts up, Archie begins to conclude that the real answer lies in Lucy’s dark and mysterious past, and that the murderer may be just a little too close for comfort …
Review
When DSS Archie Baldrick is called to the case of the death of a young woman, he as no idea how difficult it will be to find out what happened to her and who she really is. Archie is difficult character though. He is what I would call, and yes it absolutely is a cop out at times, very much a man of the era he was brought up in. Some of the things he says are said with the best intention, but are politically incorrect.His reaction to the possibility of same gender sex and throwing it out there that it may not be natural for instance. The majority of us would be repulsed at the thought of someone breaching our inner sanctum, but whether a same sex or opposite gender couple has done so is irrelevant.
Then the whole ponytail victim blaming. Yes women do certain things to keep themselves safe, and there never seems be a shortage of people telling women/girls how to look and what to wear, so as not to attract the wrong kind of attention. We shouldn't have to or be trained to be less of a temptation to rapists, deviants and killers.
Blaming the abuse victim for a perpetrators further crimes, due to the victim not reporting it to the police. Views like that are probably why he struggles in his role as a father to two young women. His genuine concern masks how outdated his views are.
It's a crime story that grows on you and gets more intricate as the tale goes on. A simple possible accidental death evolves into murder and then into a story of deception, redemption and ultimately retribution. The question is whether it really is retribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment