June 2022 Value Read: The Ash Lake Murders, by Helen H. Durrant

[Chris]

I had the opportunity to get a head-start on this one, and it is quite good. The writing is fine and engaging.
The locations are, of course, totally fictional.
The blurb has 'full of stunning twists' in capital letters, which of course had me guessing what it would be all the way through. Who is the unreliable witness?

Not saying. :) Go for it, it is worth it.
I would read another of the author's books.

[Pat]

The Ash Lake Murders, by Helen H. Durrant
Christina wrote: "I had the opportunity to get a head-start on this one, and it is quite good. The writing is fine and engaging.
The locations are, of course, totally fictional.
The blurb has 'full of stunning twi..."

I can't resist starting books early too, Christina. Glad you mentioned that the locations are fictional; I didn't know that. I wasn't prepared for the book to be quite so violent, with a female killer, though I've read that women can kill with as much and MORE violence than men. This killer has excellent upper body strength and a strong stomach, from what I've read so far.

[Pat]

To everyone who has begun reading The Ash Lake Murders:

In view of Alice's reactions to the "Mad Hatter" killer, what do you think of her as a law officer and detective?

In thought, Alice refers to secrets with the Mad Hatter. Any ideas what her secret contact with the killer was?

[Chris]

Aren't all literary detectives meant to have debilitating mental and emotional issues that would really bar them from working at this level in real life? She needs serious therapy - and a change of profession IMHO. :)

as for the secrets - aren't they just the texts she received, and her own imagination?

(To say more would be spoilers...)

[Pat]

Seems to me that the debilitating mental/emotional issues have come into mysteries fairly recently. Many mysteries lack much emotional content at all, particularly those action mysteries that men seem to enjoy more than women--though I've read women authors who could get down into the gore as well as men, and men authors who could do a fine job with psychological thrillers.

Early in Ash Lake, I felt as you did that Alice must have serious mental/emotional issues with the Mad Hatter and shouldn't be working the case due to her fear levels. Once the author stopped referring to Alice's fear, she seemed to work as well as most detectives. Maybe the author "over-prepared" us for the issues Alice might have.

Because the Mad Hatter is a declared psychopath, capble of killing with great physcial violence and harsh weapons, I see her as more like a male than female killer. This would make me fear the murderer, without the personal phone calls and texts. I'm now about 70% through the book and I think Alice isn't feeling her early fear enough. I'm afraid she's about to get careless, as more secrets of her dead husband's and of the Mad Hatter's are revealed.

This certainly adds to the tension of the plot, right at the story curve where it should be happening.

[Pat]

How did you react when the Mad Hatter revealed herself, about midpoint in the book?

Too early? Did it change how you thought about what you were reading?

[Lorraine]

This was the first book by this author for me and i was a bit surprised by it, i know she has written a number of books before this one, but for me it felt like a debut. But i did enjoy it and am going to read the others.

[Pat]

For a writer, every book can feel like a "debut" book. I never reached the point the process felt "easy" all the way through. Glad you plan to read more of this author, Lorraine.