8 February 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-80436-231-0 (PB)
The Gathering Storm begins with DI Shona Oliver and her husband, Rob, en route to the Old Bailey where, rightly or wrongly, Rob is given a ten-year sentence for his part in a money laundering scheme at the bank where he worked.
Three months later Shona is on the Kirkness Lifeboat - for which she volunteers - heading into the Solway Firth to help a yacht in trouble. The sailor was reluctant to accept help, but was eventually towed back to safety. Was he just being independent or did he have something to hide? The next day Shona’s boss, Superintendent Davis, informs her that she is to act as liaison for an American crew that is going to film a drama about Robert Burns on an island in the Solway. Disgruntled at being side-lined to a lesser job, Shona returns to the hillside home she shares with her sixteen-year-old daughter Becca and B&B guests.
Early next morning, before Shona has time to do anything about the film makers, she receives a call out to a fatal house fire. A young girl is dead and her stepfather is desperately injured. The fire started whilst a laptop was being charged. Intelligence reveals the area is awash with other potentially dangerous laptops smuggled in and sold cheaply for the Christmas trade.
Once her stand-in arrives, Shona joins the film crew. She is miffed to find that the star of the show, James McGowan fails to recognise her. They had been at school together. Does she still hold a candle for him? Despite the presence of Ric and Ben, two ex SAS security guards, it’s not long before one of the main actors Michael Vincent is found dead at the bottom of a cliff – was he pushed, did he commit suicide, or was it an accident? Then James McGowan is shot whilst being filmed in a cave. He survives. Was this accidental or deliberate? Who would want to kill him? Does he have a stalker?
Apart from worrying about lethal laptops and people being injured or dying on the film set, Shona has much to concern her on a personal level. This is the fourth in the DI Shona Oliver series. I haven’t read the others yet, but I gathered that Shona and Rob had previously weathered difficult times in their marriage. In The Gathering Storm one of Rob’s colleagues drops a bombshell in Shona’s lap, and James Mc Gowen gives her additional pause for thought.
One
of Shona’s fears is that her former boss, DCI Harry Delfont, whom she believes
was involved in the money laundering scheme for which Rob has been found
guilty, will use her husband’s conviction to discredit her testimony against
himself in any upcoming trial on sexual assault charges. This thread, and the
actions arising from similar fears of another victim whose life CI Delfont has
completely ruined, run strongly through the book. Thankfully, Shona does not
have to struggle alone. She is well supported by an excellent group of
characters including Sergeant Murdo, the young constables Kate, Ravi, and Dan
and the skipper of the lifeboat Tommy McCall, who has worries about his past
and future. Shona’s daughter Becca is lovely and plays a significant role in
this wonderfully atmospheric story set against the beautiful but treacherous
Solway Firth.
------
Reviewer: Angela Crowther
Lynne McEwan was born in Glasgow. She is a former newspaper photographer turned crime author. She’s covered stories including the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War in addition to many high-profile murder cases. Her DI Shona Oliver series is set on the beautiful Solway Firth which forms the border between Scotland and England, and where Shona is also a lifeboat volunteer. Lynne is a graduate of the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing Programme and splits her time between Lincolnshire and Scotland
Angela Crowther is
a retired scientist. She has published many scientific papers but, as
yet, no crime fiction. In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell
Ringing group, goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly
the operas of Verdi and Wagner.
No comments:
Post a Comment