‘A missing daughter, a gangster kingpin bent on revenge and a locked laptop…’
The Bone Fire
[ About The Bone Fire ]
A fatal fire in a holiday let on Slievemore, Achill Island, leaves one person dead and another missing. Deemed arson, DS Lucy Golden and her team are tasked with solving the murder and locating the missing woman, Moira Delaney. As the case develops, the pressure builds when it transpires that Moira’s father is a gangland figure, a suspect in three unsolved murders. If Lucy doesn’t uncover what happened that morning in Slievemore, he will deploy his men to deal out his own sort of justice.
Things get even more complicated when a laptop is uncovered that could ruin all that Lucy holds dear. And as the net on the suspect tightens, Lucy faces a hard choice – will she use it to save herself and bring a murderer to justice, or bury it and save her family and her career?
[ My Review ]
The Bone Fire by Martina Murphy publishes August 22nd with Constable and is described as an ‘Irish-set thriller guaranteed to keep you at the edge of your seat’. It is a DS Lucy Golden book and is #4 in the series. It is also my first book by this author and I had no issue jumping in on book 4, as enough snippets of the back story are littered throughout to keep any new reader informed.
Set on Achill Island, off the coast of Co. Mayo, DS Lucy Golden is called to attend a house fire where a body is discovered. Within a very short period of time, it’s clear to the investigating team that this is also a missing person case. Moira Delaney moved from Limerick with her two small children and was renting the cottage from a local couple. Now missing, the team attempt to track down her relatives and soon discover that Moira is the daughter of a notorious gangland crime figure who, to date, has escaped arrest. On hearing of his daughter’s disappearance, this man wants immediate answers and threatens to handle it himself in his own threatening and aggressive way if the team don’t provide him with a solid explanation fast. Could there be a gang-related link to this case? Has Moira become entangled in her father’s business or is something even more sinister responsible?
Lucy and her team must gather the evidence and look for answers as the clock ticks. There are many secrets on the island of Achill and, as Lucy soon discovers, some a little closer to home than she could possibly have imagined. Lucy is simultaneously dealing with her own situation balancing her personal life with her work. Her past is never too far away with the shadow of a former life always there on her shoulder that she just can’t shake off. The presence of a laptop holding information that could destroy all that she is trying to protect sends ripples through her personal life and Lucy struggles with decisions to be made. Will she do the right thing when the time comes?
One of the first things that caught my eye was the cover of The Bone Fire. I have never been to Achill Island so was not familiar with Achill Henge which is the dramatic and controversially 2011 built structure that has caused much consternation and discussion among the community. It provides for a striking cover image drawing the reader in to explore more inside the covers. Lucy Golden is a perfectly imperfect central character inviting the reader to champion her along the way as she stumbles through her life in the best way she can. She is very relatable which adds a great layer of authenticity to her personality. The plot of The Bone Fire is very emotive and impactful, with a storyline that will leave every reader smarting. With a mix of the good and the downright nasty set in a very dramatic and atmospheric location, Martina Murphy has written a novel that engages and entertains to the final page.
[ Bio ]
Martina Murphy lives with her family in Maynooth, County Kildare. She has previously written general fiction as Martina Reilly (and years ago, YA as Tina Reilly), published by Little Brown and Hachette Ireland. Her novel Something Borrowed, was long listed for an Impac award.
X ~ @MartinaReilly
You have definitely piqued my interest in this series. Thanks for the great review Mairead.
Lynne fabulous. Thank you x