Death at Whitewater Church Andrea Carter
Set in rural Ireland this story follows Ben (Benedicta) O’Keefe, a Lawyer practicing in the small town of Glendara.
The story starts with Ben and a local Surveyor acting for a local businessman who is selling a disused church for development. Whilst looking around the church they discover a crypt, and inside the crypt a skeletonised body. Not only is the body too recent to be there legitimately but it also appears that whoever it is, was locked in and left to die.
Rumours begin that the body is that of a man who has been missing since the morning of his wedding day.
Missing for nearly seven years is the body that of local man Danny Devitt.
Although O’Keefe has been living in the village nearly as long as Devitt has been missing she is unaware of the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Glendara is a typical Celtic rural village, family histories interweave, and everybody knows everybody else’s business As the local Lawyer, and member of the local dramatics group, O’Keefe comes into contact with various characters, all of who seem to have an insight into the mystery but nobody has a definitive answer.
To help with identifying the body the local Garda enlist the help of a Forensic Anthropologist, a face from O’Keefe’s past who brings back memories O’Keefe would rather be left forgotten.
O’Keefe deals with the past whilst working on the present day crime in a semi-professional manner.
A series of break-ins in the town may be related to the body in the crypt but how. During her research O’Keefe becomes aware of a terrorist incident in which a ship was sunk just outside the local docks. The sinking of the ship was attributed to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Is this also related to the body in the crypt?
The last few pages reveal the answers, and they’re not easy to anticipate.
This debut novel is a really good read. From start to finish it kept me enthralled.
The story is set at a pace that makes it easy to read but very hard to put down.
The characters are all fascinating without being overpowering.
The description of the settings makes Glendara feel real, yet it is a place made up by the Author Andrea Carter.
Set in the winter the isolation of the area seems more sinister, perfect for the plot.
I can only hope this is the first book of many from Andrea Carter.
nigeladamsbookworm 