Review of 'Malign Intent' by Robert Craven
GardaInspector P.J. Crowe returns in
Malign Intent by Robert Craven
(December2023), a sequel to the crime thriller A Kind of Drowning. As in theprevious book, Crowe's career is in tatters, his position in the forceuncertain. At the beginning of one shift, he is called to investigate when abody, dressed in outdoor gear, is found swaying from a tree at the edge of aforest."Youare to close it off as a suicide," his boss, Chief SuperintendentO'Suilleabháin, instructs him. "Official, like."
"Suicide,not proven," Crowe replies. For him, 'not proven meant doubt. Doubtimplied a crime… He didn't like it, but Crowe had a murder on his hands.' Ofthis, only he is convinced, so he sets out himself to solve the crime.
IsCrowe up for the mission? His superiors believe he is 'still recovering from anadjustment reaction linked to the circumstances in which he finds himself.' Hisviolent assault and battery escapades in a previous case are well known, leadinghim to avoid social media and its toxic trolling, but Crowe insists he is"calmer now… less extreme."
"Idid what any good cop would do," Crowe reassures a fellow inspector. Solvingthis murder case is, for him, 'a solid piece of real police work… For the firsttime in nearly two years, Crowe felt the surge of intent. A reminder to him asto why he became a policeman. To protect the public.'
Malign Intent will appeal to readers who appreciate police procedural crime fiction.Capturing one's attention is the thriller's setting in rural Ireland. Ireland,with its rutted moonscapes and coastal fogs, and the vanilla and black thunderheadsrolling inwards from the sea.
ForCrowe, 'every crime has a window of opportunity; a golden few minutes, hours,and days before threads of evidence start to wither and go cold or disperse aslife continues on without the dead.'. The long days of Ireland's Atlanticautumnal rains are coming, and the clock is ticking for Crowe to solve thecrime. We are partner to his investigation, assured that no matter what itsresult, we anticipate meeting Crowe again in his future cases.
Robert Craven is an award-winning Irish author of thrilling fiction. His novel, EaglesHunt Wolves was the winner of the 2021 Firebird Book Award for bestAction/Adventure. His other novels include the Eva series (Get Lenin, Zinnman,A Finger of Night, Hollow Point, and Eagles Hunt Wolves);the Steampunk novel The Mandarin Cipher; and the crime thriller AKind of Drowning. His short stories have been published in threeanthologies and he is also a regular reviewer of CDs for the Independent IrishReview Ireland.
