This is the 2nd installment in Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series. See my post on The Searcher for quick background on the main character. It's been about 2 years since the events of the first book and Cal and Lena are now officially an item in the small Irish village of Ardnakelty where Cal is restoring a run down cottage and teaching a local teenager, Trey (short for Theresa), how to be a carpenter so she'll have future possibilities outside the townland. In other words, things are going well until Trey's long absent father swans back into town towing a London "millionaire" who claims to have information about gold depositss on the local area. Of course the pair are planning to scam the village inhabitants of "investment" money when planted gold is "found" and Trey is more than willing to help in the scheme to get revenge for the death of her older brother and the way the village has treated her family for years. Suddenly everthing the three have been working toward is at risk. Cal and Lena want to protect Trey at any cost, especially when she finds the money man dead on a mountain road. Tray has other ideas and is heedless of the potential consequences of her actions. the book is a slow start but a tense wind-up at the end. French''s writing and characters are worth the time it takes to reach the climax.
Publishers Weekly calls this a "slow burn sequel" that is a "cut above similar fare." Booklist gushes "French's characterizations are brilliant, as always," and says the book is "masterfully written." Kirkus closes their review with this: "The book abounds in local color and lively dialogue. An absorbing crime yarn."
