‘The Truth Never Stays Buried’
– The Seventh Body
[ About The Seventh Body ]
When six human bodies are discovered, building work on a derelict site in Cork grinds to a halt. And then a seventh is discovered. Although the first six are men who died centuries ago, the seventh body is different – female, for a start, and much more recent.
What began as a historic find is now a crime scene.
Detective Garda Alice McCann is determined to track down the killer, even though she knows her superiors don’t want her anywhere near such a high-profile case. Not after what happened before.
But at every turn, her investigation reveals more questions than answers, more lies than facts. And someone powerful is watching her every move. Can Alice uncover the truth before she’s taken off the case – and before the killer strikes again?
[ My Review ]
The Seventh Body, the Irish Bestseller by Catherine Kirwan, published March 6th with Hachette Ireland and is described as ‘a chilling, gripping female detective thriller, inspired by true events’.
Catherine Kirwan’s previous three books featured Cork solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick but she has changed tack slightly with The Seventh Body introducing us to Detective Garda Alice McCann. There are a few Easter Eggs littered throughout that regular readers will recognise but for anyone new to Catherine’s work, The Seventh Body works perfectly as a standalone.
I recall a few years back reading a newspaper article about the discovery of the skeletal remains of six men during the demolition of a well known Cork pub that was being redeveloped. Work stopped immediately as the archaeology team were brought in and the radiocarbon dating began. The positioning of the bones pointed to a military-style killing possibly from 1400-1600s. Catherine Kirwan was inspired by this gruesome discovery and, with a more modern twist and some brilliant tweaks, The Seventh Body was born.
With more of a leaning to the police procedural than previously, Catherine Kirwan leads us on an active investigation through the sights and sounds of Cork city. With the recent discovery of seven bodies on a construction site in an older part of the city, the reader journeys back to Cork in the 1990s. This was a time when Sir Henry’s Night Club was the place to be for many but it was also around that time that ecstasy hit the streets of Cork. I was in my twenties during those heady years but I remember it well when the rave scene took hold of a generation and there was a shift in the nightlife vibe within the city.
Detective Garda Alice McCann has a personal history that is ever-present. Her reputation has taken a battering in recent times within the force and Alice is all too aware of the snide remarks and comments made behind her back from her colleagues. When her boss offers her an opportunity to step up and be involved in this new case, Alice is tentative but also aware that she has to prove herself as an officer all over again.
It’s clear to all involved that six of the bodies are historic but it is the seventh body that raises so many questions, very quickly leading to a murder investigation. Alice is a brilliant investigator with an alternative approach to any work she undertakes but she has to step very carefully around this latest case as with one wrong step, she knows that her days as an active Garda could be in jeopardy.
As Alice trawls through every snippet of information, any clue that could possibly lead to the truth, she is shadowed by her past. Nervous and constantly on edge, Alice reaches deep and begins to make a tentative connection with who the murder victim is. With intricate research and an inquisitive mind, she questions and probes, interweaving invisible threads and joining the dots taking the reader on a tense and compelling adventure through the streets of the city across different periods of time. Addictive and intense, with brilliant pacing, the suspense is built with each expertly crafted scene.
Unputdownable, The Seventh Body is a fabulously executed crime novel with a wonderful new protagonist who is both flawed and very relatable. An absolute cracker of a novel, The Seventh Body is a jaw-dropping tale with complex and believable characters. Let’s hope we’ll see more of Detective Garda Alice McCann!
* Thank you to Hachette Ireland for a copy of The Seventh Body in exchange for an honest review
[ Bio ]
Catherine Kirwan grew up in the parish of Fews, County Waterford. She studied law at University College Cork and lives in Cork City where she works as a solicitor.
