Book - Last Rites

Journalism and Lancashire Witchcraft as Steve Taylor-Bryant reads Last Rites by Neil White...

When Luke Howarth is found stabbed to death in his bed, suspicion falls on his girlfriend, Sarah Goode - missing since his murder. Just another crime of passion with a tragic end - or is it? Reporter Jack Garrett isn't sure - especially when Sarah's parents beg him to find their daughter. As he delves into the town's troubled history he discovers that dangerous rituals from the past are impacting upon the present. Jack's girlfriend, DC Laura McGanity, finds herself caught up in the case, as the mystery surrounding Sarah's disappearance dramatically unravels, and Jack and Laura find themselves in mortal danger, facing an unhinged killer...

Whilst this is technically the third instalment of the DC Laura McGanity series it's her journalist boyfriend Jack Garrett that takes centre stage in a thriller that I really enjoyed. The investigation takes the twists and turns it should, it's impossible to predict who the villain of the piece is until its revealed and the added witchcraft history of the area is both fascinating and essential to the story. Garrett and McGanity are written well and you really get into Garrett's mind as he goes from chasing a possible story right into the heart of the action. The police come across a little too inept for my liking but it's needed here to drive the plot and doesn't ruin the story.

I've read a lot of Neil White's work now, he writes a lot of these character series and, whilst I prefer the lawyer/cop team of the Joe and Sam Parker series, the DC Laura McGanity books are still a great read. There are a lot of detective thrillers in a flooded market but what White does to rise to the top of his genre is in the descriptive way he lays out the surrounding area. I never want to be a policeman or a detective at the end of a thriller but, when I finish a Neil White novel, I want to visit the moors, the countryside he describes so beautifully, the buildings, whether a ruined farmhouse or a church. White has me hooked with his style and, whether you read any of his series books or his standalone novels, you'll get hooked too.

Image - Amazon