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FOOTPRINTS OF THE DEVIL
by Olive Etchells
Carroll & Graf, March 2006
244 pages
$25.00
ISBN: 0786717351


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In Hawaii, surfer Dave Tregenza suddenly gets the urge to go home to Cornwall, England for the first time in seven years. When he had left home there were hard feelings in the family because his brother, Jonny was going to marry Delphi, the girl they both loved.

When Dave arrives home, he discovers that Jonny has gone missing and no one has any idea where he could be. The police say it's too soon for them to get involved. They insist that Jonny could have just left town on his own, but everyone who knows the man can't see him leaving the people he loves most, his two little girls and his pregnant wife.

When the body of a man is found and it turns out to be an Arab, the police finally become involved. In the area is a large satellite earth station and DCI Channon and Sgt Bowles are brought in with the idea that terrorism might be involved. They wonder what the connection could be between the dead man and Jonny, who is still missing.

Meanwhile, Dave tries his best to be there for his brother's family and for their aunt Frances who raised the boys when their parents had been killed in a boating accident many years before. But the going is very emotionally difficult for him. Dave also delves into Jonny's business trying to find out anything that would help uncover where his brother might be, but nothing turns up. All indications show that Jonny was simply a loving husband and father.

This is the second in the DCI Channon series and the first I've read. Rarely has a book engrossed and charmed me as much as FOOTPRINTS OF THE DEVIL. The writing is superb, the character development is first-rate and the entire mystery is drawn out and solved in a well-crafted and solid way. The location of the small Cornish fishing village is vividly drawn and it is populated with memorable and fully fleshed out characters.

There are enough clues and twists to keep the reader's mind churning over the possibilities for a solution all through the story, and the surprise ending is solid and satisfying. I hope the third in the series is available soon. If it's anything like FOOTPRINTS OF THE DEVIL I'll want to read it.

Reviewed by Sharon Katz, June 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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