She should be happy with a quick open and shut case. God knows life hasn't been easy lately; a bout with breast cancer, a family feud brewing and trips to a counsellor over the death of a criminal who would have been even more happy about killing her. Still, something is nagging at the back of Detective Inspector Serena Flanagan's mind. Despite his wealth, it is understandable that Henry Garrick would want to take his life. An automobile accident five months earlier had left him burned, bedridden, legless and needing constant care for his horrific injuries. Why would he want to live?
The crime investigation team have all gone from the wealthy home and the medical examiner indicates it is a suicide, so why can't she just let it go and sign off on the case. What is it about the pictures that won't let her rest?
Written by the award winning Irish author Stuart Neville, SO SAY THE FALLEN is one of the most exciting and page turning police procedural I have read in a long time! Not having read any of Neville's books before, I can certainly attest SO SAY THE FALLEN is a great stand alone crime novel; yet, it is the third in his DCI Serena Flanagan series and his seventh novel in total. Neville's fans are sure to be pleased and I, for one, am definitely planning on getting my hands on those earlier books by Neville and reading them as well.
Neville is a gifted writer with an awesome ability to have his characters spring vividly to life. Their emotions, thoughts, mannerisms and actions are what makes the story so authentic and engrossing. DCI Serena Flanagan is a feisty, intelligent and determined protagonist. Her hot-headed temperament is quite the opposite of serenity of her name and she has been known to be sharp and abrasive, especially with some of her male colleagues. Making life difficult for her is her husband Alistair who has taken over her role as a parent and is intent on pushing her out of their marriage unless she quits her job while her immediate superior, Detective Superintendent Purdy is days away from retirement and just wants out with a clean record. All very aptly done and too true to life for many professionals in similar situations.
The secondary characters in SO SAY THE FALLEN are also all very realistic and I particularly liked how Neville describes Reverend Peter McKay's spiritual struggles and those of others in the story as well as how police and other politics can interfere with an investigation. If you are looking for a great police procedural crime story or simply an utterly absorbing read, look no further than Neville's latest, SO SAY THE FALLEN! I can't wait for the next in the series!
Henry Garrick, a local car dealer who was maimed in an accident five months before, has apparently taken his own life. A simple case, it should be wrapped up in a few days. But something doesn’t feel right to Belfast detective Serena Flanagan, despite the fact that there is no evidence of foul play. As she investigates, Flanagan interviews Roberta Garrick, Henry’s widow, who is comforted in her grief by Reverend Peter McKay, rector of the local church and a close family friend. Flanagan is carrying heavy personal burdens, her mind and marriage nearly at breaking point, and on impulse she confides in the rector, seeking his spiritual help. But with the secrets McKay is keeping, he is in no position to help anyone. His faith long gone, he is lost in a spiral of lust and guilt from which he sees no escape. Until, that is, the policewoman offers him a glimpse of salvation. Flanagan ignores her superiors’ advice to close the case, call it a suicide, and be done with it. As she picks at the threads of the dead man’s life, a disturbing picture emerges, and she realizes the widow Roberta Garrick is not what she seems . . .
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