Eight stars
Having been offered an ARC for the latest Marcy McCreary novel, I wanted to get get a handle on things from the start of the series. This debut is bit of mystery and historical police work mixed together, in which McCreary presents an enticing story that is sure to keep the reader’s attention. When a woman thought dead four decades ago emerges, the case is reopened and Detective Susan Ford will have to rely on her instincts and an established police officer to solve this case, which has been collecting dust for many years. McCreary does well building tension and exciting twists throughout.
Tucked away in the Catskills, a hotel stands, full of patrons. Stanley and Rachel Roth own The Cuttman Hotel and live a dynastic life. The own the place to be with a massive resort and a reputation second to none. Stan was a wonderful businessman and Rachel had everything she could have wanted. They had four children whose interested varied. It was a family that everyone envied, an for good reason. At least what’s what it seemed.
When of the The Cuttman’s waitresses went missing in 1978, everyone began to whisper about Trudy Solomon. Detective Will Fo4d took up the case, but with few leads and no body, the case soon went cold and Ford was stuck wondering what happened and hw the case slipped through his fingers.
Forty years later, the Roths are no longer at the top of the mountain, as the hotel industry has taken a significant dive. The skeletal remains on the side of the road near where The Cuttman Hotel stood breathe an eeriness into the area once more. While many wonder if this might be Trudy Solomon, things are even more troubling when a quick Social Security search locates her in an Alzheimer’s facility in Massachusetts. The case is reopened and new wonders emerge, as Trudy has no idea how she got to her current residence and the forms are not shedding any light on things. Retired Detective Will Ford is curious, though it is his daughter, Susan Ford, who has taken up the torch and will now lead the investigation.
Detective Ford is able to pull a few pieces out of Trudy, however, with a frail mind and evidence that is four decades old, solving the case will be much harder. Who could have wanted Trudy to go missing and for what reasons? As Susan begins the investigation, she pairs up with her father to solve the case that turned out to be his White Whale. They try to re-run the evidence and make new attempts to handle the case, in hopes of using technology and simmering memories to bring needed closure.
As Susan and Will try to re-connect with the Roths, they seek answers that might help shed light on things. What happened in that hotel? Who might have been around that could have posed a potential motive to want Trudy Solomon gone? All this while Susan is thrust into trying to rekindle an old friendship with one of the Roth children, her best friend up to that summer of 1978. Now, with secrets emerging and others found dead, Susan will have to make sense of the story and try to see who might be behind the disappearance of Trudy Solomon and how she found herself in a hospital after all these years? A great story that flows well, showing that Marcy McCreary has all the elements for a great novel.
I quite enjoyed the approach that Marcy McCreary took with this piece. Working backwards from an apparent murder and morphing it into a missing person’s case with a historical set of facts, the story flows well and McCreary uses a great case to provide the reader with some strong foundational ideas, building from there. The narrative moves, at times dabbling in both 1978 and 2018, giving characters the chance to fill in gaps as they try to recount what was going on during both time periods. McCreary pulls it all together in a police procedural of sorts as the story begins to take shape. Characters emerge and make their mark throughout the story, keeping the reader hooked until the final pages, where surprise and cliffhangers fuel a desire to see what;s next for Susan Ford. I am happy to have the second novel, as it will allow me to put some of the pieces together quickly.
Strong plot points keep the story moving and unpredictable. Susan Ford has seen a lot and as things are told through her eyes, the reader can see her surprise as she tries to make sense of what she knew and now can see in a fresh light. The reader finds themselves in the middle of all the twists that leave the story raw and exciting, not coming together under the final reveal, which proves to be just what a lover of mysteries will enjoy. Ready with the ARC, I will forge onwards to see what;s to come and how the Fords will recover from all they have been though in this debut thriller.
Kudos, Madam McCreary, for writing something well worth my time.
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