Thirlmere hides a deadly secret…

Book blurb

Drought hits the Lake District, uncovering a skeleton at the bottom of Thirlmere reservoir. The case quickly becomes personal for DI Kelly Porter when she discovers it’s the remains of an old classmate, missing for over twenty years.

Then a day later, another body is found in a caravan park, its head broken and bloody.

Kelly suspects these two crimes are linked. But if she’s right, that means there’s a ruthless killer somewhere in her community – someone who will do anything to keep the truth buried…

My thoughts

It’s a year since the last time we visited the Lake District in the world of the D I Kelly Porter series and Kelly has moved on from the difficult situation that caused her so much pain in her personal life.

The summer has been hot and dry so much so that Lake Thirlmere, a manmade reservoir, has lost a lot of water and in doing so reveals the remains of a young man – who was he? How did he end up in Thirlmere?

When another body turns up, that of a man recently killed, Kelly cannot but feel that they are linked somehow. Especially when it takes her back to her school days and an unresolved missing person case that her father worked on.

As the investigations continue, the post mortem on the second body and the forensic evidence being gathered on the Thirlmere remains bring up a fact that confirms Kelly’s suspicions. Kelly also has to face the fact that the man she called her father for most of her life and looked up to may not the man she thought she knew.

It was good to be back in the Lakes especially as I had literally been there just a short while before reading Silent Bones and had visited a number of the places that were in the book in particular Penrith were I visited the charming Hedgehog bookshop and Pooley Bridge which included a visit to the lovely Verey Bookshop and cafe (yes, I bought books!). It makes the story feel so real and ensured my engagement and enjoyment of the book right from the opening page.

Rachel Lynch not only brings the beautiful Lakes setting into her story bringing it to life as she would a character – and she has some lovely characters that are part of her team and her family – but delivers an engaging, engrossing story with good plots that make for a really good read. Silent Bones is another terrific addition to this wonderful series and now the next instalment is calling me, it won’t be too long before I sit down to read Shared Remains which is quietly awaiting my attention.

Book: Purchased

Information

Published: Canelo Crime | 27th July 2023 | ISBN: 9781800327283

Buy: Amazon | Waterstones | Hive | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Available in: Paperback | Audio | eBook

Author

Rachel Lynch is an author of crime fiction whose books have sold more than one million copies. She grew up in Cumbria and the lakes and fells are never far away from her. London pulled her away to teach History and marry an Army Officer, whom she followed around the globe for thirteen years. A change of career after children led to personal training and sports therapy, but writing was always the overwhelming force driving the future. The human capacity for compassion as well as its descent into the brutal and murky world of crime are fundamental to her work.

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Books

The Rich

Helen Scott Royal Military Police Thrillers

The Rift | The Line

Detective Kelly Porter

Dark Game | Deep Fear | Dead End | Bitter Edge | Bold Lies Blood Rites | Little Doubt | Lost Cause | Lying Ways | Sudden Death | Silent Bones | Shared Remains