This story concerns the theft of valuable paintings and other antiques from a house of an elderly woman who died a short time later from the savage beating sustained during the robbery, Aileen McWhirter was 98 years old. Her younger brother Gavin is not only shocked and saddened by this tragedy but is particularly upset about the disappearance of a treasured watch. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace will head the enquiry and finds himself following a murderous race against the clock....and us in another very exciting saga.
The story opens in 1920’s New York when a boy’s mother is killed and the father kidnapped by hard looking men. Then the story quickly moves to Brighton present day with Grace investigating the home invasion. The story unfolds gradually with these two events on both sides of the Atlantic. Back and forth we go. I quite like the way the two different time periods come back together especially at the end. In tandem with the main story but not really a part of it is that someone is after Roy and his family and wants desperately to pull them apart even killed them. Grace nemesis, Amis Smallbone, definitely has a twisted obsession for revenge against our protagonist.
I love how Mr. James is able to takes ideas and make it seem real and believable such as the antiques trade and the psychology of revenge. The cast of characters is great I particularly loved Roy’s relationship with Cleo and their baby Noah which is very well-done in my books. Grace and his team of investigators also work superbly well together. They dig out clues and drive the investigation along while building tension for us to stay riveted till the very end, another plus. Of course the bad guys are interesting and their part give traction even more to this very exciting drama. Oh! Sandy as always has her usual snippet to tease us...what will she do?. Said with short chapters, this gripping tale is a masterful juggling act for the author as well as for Grace.
There is a lot I could mention going on here but I have to leave some for you to discover. This story is so smooth; I zipped through it in no time.
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