First
Sentence: Debby Telerhaye's footsteps echoed in the fog like
hammer blows as her tottering heels hit the stone pavement.
No one
really believes the claim of an inebriated teen who claims
to have seen a dead body and nun-like figure in the ruins
of an abbey, except for DI Joe Plantagenet. The story becomes
more believable when a woman is reported missing. Does it
have something to do with a local play dealing the religious
and sexual violence? Or could it even connect to the death
of a young nun centuries before?
Ellis
captures our attention from the very first with the combination
of a young woman, fog, an abandoned abbey, the sense of being
followed, and a dead body. For what more could one ask?
Joe Plantagenet
is clearly a man with a past and a very interesting character.
He had studied for the priesthood, married and was widowed.
Through him, Ellis paints a very realistic portrait of a man
who is still grieving, even after several years. He is also
a man whose friend is a Canon and a Diocesan Exorcist. It
is also nice to have a protagonist listen to sacred music,
such as the Thomas Tillis mass for four voices, Allegri:Miserere.
In contrast his DCI, Emily Thwaite, is a married woman with
three children. It makes for a nice contrast.
One must
respect an author who doesn't make you feel as though you've
missed something by starting with the fifth book in the series.
Still, reading this does make one want to go back and start
at the beginning of the series.
Walking
by Night contain a delicious sense of menace, a very good
plot twist, and intrigue that underlies the entire story.
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