Digital Reads Reviews

My review

The story is written in the background of the clan of Irish Travellers who are thought to be gypsies and are looked upon by the local people. Many have settled in America for generations and are frequently discriminated against. I liked the fact that the author explains this in the foreword.

Brynn returns back from the war along with her canine friend, Wilco to her grandmother’s, when Wilco finds a dead woman. Brynn is torn between her clan and the other settled people till she finds out that the dead woman is her mother who was thought to be dead 29 years ago. The story progresses with another dead woman and ends till the murders are solved. 

The author, Susan Furlong, has taken a tough subject of PTSD and flashbacks, and both Brynn and Wilco suffer from it. It  is heartbreaking to see both of them suffer through their episodes. 

There is something about the main character, Brynn that touches me and I somehow identify with her. A woman wounded with emotional scars, and in Brynn’s case, physical ones too, trying to survive, coming back to the land of living, is so admirable. It speaks of great strength and fortitude. She has her flaws, she drinks too much and takes prescribed medication more than required. But she does allow her dented heart to shine and help the Sheriff Pusser to solve the murder. 

Brynn is caught between her police training in the Marines and the rules of her clan. There is always an inner dialogue. Faced with outwards discrimination by the other local people and inner condemn by her own clan people, Brynn has to maintain a balance throughout the story. Her inner turmoil jumps through the pages. 

Each character in this book, be it be the grandmother, the dead mother, the grandfather, Brynn’s past love, they all have an excuse, an explanation for their actions. And none of them are in favor of Bryn. Everyone lies to her. I found all of them pretty selfish. I didn’t like any of them. Things people do in the name of love… 

There are few niggles; sometimes I felt that Brynn’s ruminations go on and on, for pages. I wanted more of the story. But this being the first book in the series, I think the author Susan wanted to create a background for her main character. 

My first book by author Susan Furlong, the reason this book attracted me is the blurb of Brynn and her best friend and partner, her cadaver dog, Wilco, who is loyal and loving. And both of them somehow, in the land of brash, lying characters just captured my heart. 
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Kensington and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. 

My rating : 4 stars

About the Author 

Susan Furlong was introduced to the American Irish Traveller community when a family of Travellers worked on her home. After extensive research, her fascination with this itinerant subculture became the basis for her new suspense series. Susan contributes to the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea Mysteries, under the pen name Lucy Arlington, and is the author of other mysteries as well. Raised in North Dakota, she graduated from Montana State University. She and her family live in central Illinois

Book blurb 

After an IED explosion abruptly ends her tour of duty, Brynn arrives stateside with PTSD and her canine partner, Wilco—both of them bearing the scars of battle. 

When Wilco’s training as a cadaver dog leads Brynn to discover a body in the woods, the two worlds collide. After the police identify the dead woman, Brynn is shocked to learn she has a personal connection—and everything she’s been told about her past is called into question.

Forming a reluctant alliance with local sheriff Frank Pusser, Brynn must dig up secrets that not only will rattle her close-knit clan to its core, but may forever change her perception of who she is . . . and put her back in the line of fire.

Product Details 

Publication date : 26th December 2017 

Publisher : Kensington 

Language : English 

Available on Amazon