Twenty-five years ago, while Anna Fairley  was helping her mother peg out clothes on the line, Anna’s baby sister Janey, was taken from her pram in the front garden of their cottage. The case of the missing baby girl was never solved, though those working the case at the time had their suspicions…

Jump forward to the present and DS Iris Locke is working back in Limerick after a year spent undercover in Dublin. Not her ideal location because working here, in her hometown, puts her in the long and distinguished shadow of Police Superintendent Jack Locke, her retired father.

When a gruesome and senseless murder gives Iris the opportunity to work in the Murder Squad, she is taken into the team as they are under staffed.

The murder of Anna Crowe and her two small children is seemingly without motive… yet Iris Locke can’t seem to shake the gut feeling that the fact that the victim was formerly Anna Fairley, the big sister in the Baby Fairley case, is just too much of a coincidence.

However, the Baby Fairley case was led by her father and folk around here were loathe to make the connection on that basis alone.

“If he couldn’t solve it, he sure as hell wouldn’t want anyone else coming along and pulling his work apart, pulling his memories apart, pulling his reputation apart. Iris knew that no one would want to discredit her father; no one would want to upset the old man.”

The Corbally Murder Team:

D.S. Iris Locke – Twenty-nine years old and a born policewoman. Single, she is devoted to her career and has always wanted to follow in her esteemed father’s footsteps.

D.S. Ben Slatterey – A fifty-something, cynical, ‘old school’ copper who is devoted to the job in equal measure to his devotion to drink. His two obsessions has alienated him from his wife and daughter. He gets on Iris’s nerves, yet she holds a grudging respect for his work and connections.

D.C. June Quinn – a diligent officer and a widow. She now tries to ‘look out’ for Ben Slatterey, though she tries to do this unobtrusively…

D.C. Dennis Blake – the bookman of the team who organizes and correlates the various reports of any given case.

D.I. Coleman Grady – a remote and solitary man. A perfectionist, he oversees his team with a keen eye. Respectful of everyone on his team, Grady seems to have a soft spot for the errant D.S. Slatterey. Also, Grady seems to have an interesting ‘back story’ which I hope will be revealed in future books.

Superintendent Anita Cullen – new to the Corbally station, she has ‘history’ with Ben Slatterley that will make Ben’s position on the team tenuous at best.

“This was Ireland and still cronyism and cover-up went much further that fact or truth.”

It is a rare treat when a police procedural series debut ‘ticks all the boxes‘. I can confidently say that “Her Sister’s Bones” definitely met all my requirements in a crime novel.

I loved that the author introduced each of the Murder Team in such a way that the reader gets to connect with them all and wants to learn more about them.

The Limerick location, the outstanding characterization and the well executed plot all came together in a package that most readers of the genre will love.

In fact, I can find nothing to criticize (I know… strange for me right?)

One thing is for sure, I’ll be the first to pick up the second installment in what promises to be a stellar series. Can’t wait for DS Iris Locke’s next foray in the Limerick crime fighting scene. Very highly recommended!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley. It is listed on NetGalley under its previous title: “Silent Night”.

Geraldine Hogan (aka Faith Hogan) gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway. She has worked as a fashion model, an event’s organiser and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.
Faith Hogan was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.  Her debut novel, ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ is a contemporary women’s fiction novel set in Dublin.

Faith Hogan was born in Ireland and still lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children, and an overweight cat.

Follow this author on Twitter: @GerHogan

NOTE: This author uses the pen name Faith Hogan for her women’s fiction titles and Geraldine Hogan for her crime fiction titles.