Jessie Boyle – is a 45 year old perfectionist, who works as a Criminal Behaviourist, and has just lost her lover and partner in a brutal, barbaric, crime. Reeling from her loss, she resigns from her job with the London Metropolitan Police, and returns to her homeland – Ireland.

Jessie Boyle drives an orange, vintage MG

Jessie’s longtime friend, Dawn Wilson, is now the Police Commissioner of Ireland. Dawn calls in a debt and enlists Jessie’s aid in finding an abducted woman. A woman who just happens to be the former Prime Minister of Ireland’s daughter.

Garda Seamus Keneally is in his mid-twenties. From the west of Ireland, he has valuable local knowledge and has proven himself with a commendation for bravery on the job. He is courageous, boisterous, has an unquenchable appetite, and is a talented musician.

Terri Kehoe is also in her mid-twenties. She is a historian who works as a consultant for the Garda Síochána. She is a skilled researcher who also has a keen intellect and a marked proficiency for digital investigation and hacking. Quiet and nervous, she has dyed blue hair and is covered with freckles that she hates.

Jessie, Seamus, and Terri are working temporarily in the building the locals call “The White Elephant”, which is The Old Barracks in Cahersiveen.

My ongoing affair with serial killer thrillers continues. At one point I swore off reading any more of these types of books as the pictures they engender in my mind are disturbing. However, I’ve come to realize that the psychology – the intelligent and ingenious methods of bringing serial killers to justice – is just too fascinating to give up.

With “Bring Her Home“, we encounter just such a scenario. The crime fighting team of Jessie Boyle, Seamus Keneally, and Terri Kehoe make for the perfect team to fight the deranged and evil minds of the truly psychopathic. In this book the team has just formed and they are getting to know one another. By the end of the book, we have learned their individual strengths, and they have become a small family.

The setting, Cork, the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, the Ring of Kerry, and Cahirsiveen are all real locations in Ireland. Locations that abound with history and atmosphere. The novel was rife with Celtic legends and lore, all of which I found fascinating.The novel moved along at a fast pace, and the plot developed in such a way that kept me glued to the pages.

To be fair, some of the Celtic legend backstory was confusing to me at times, but the great characterization of the small investigating team more than made up for it.

After finishing the novel, I reflected that I preferred the book’s original title, “Dancing With The Dead” as it seems to ‘fit’ the narrative much better.

In short, I liked these characters and this setting, so will be keen to read their next adventure together in “Lost Graves“, the second book in this series.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley – at my request,  for my own reading enjoyment and the writing of this review. Publication date: September 3, 2021

ISBN: 9781800196445 – ASIN: ‎ B096VW3SKK  – 348 pages

S.A. Dunphy (born 1973) is a child protection expert, author, journalist, musician, broadcaster and teacher. He is married, has two children, and is also a proud grandad. He worked as a child and social care worker throughout Ireland for fifteen years, and still practices on a consultancy basis. He is currently Head of the Social Care Department at Waterford College of Further Education. Dunphy is a multi-instrumentalist, performing live regularly. Shane writes both narrative non-fiction and crime fiction.

Dunphy is an award-winning documentary maker and he writes regularly for Independent newspapers. His crime novels are written under S.A. Dunphy which is a pseudonym for Shane Dunphy.

Visit Shane Dunphy’s official website and/or follow him on Twitter @dunphyshane1