The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields

 

When an American teen goes missing on the Isle of Mull the police show a reluctance to investigate so the family bring in a private investigator to help. Sadie Levesque, a Canadian, has experience of tracking down runaway teens. Despite the hostility shown by the local police and a tight-knit community determined to protect their own, Sadie uses her skills and discovers the body of the missing girl. It is obvious that the girl was murdered. The police are convinced it must be an opportunistic murder committed by a tourist, Sadie is less convinced and continues to investigate.

I'd never heard of the author Helen Fields until I read One For Sorrow back in November 2021. Back then I was blown away by the novel so was pleased to receive a review copy of Fields next novel, The Last Girl To Die. Once again I'm absolutely amazed by the quality of the writing and story-line, I am determined that I am going to go back through Fields back catalogue and catch up.

This murder mystery has everything you would expect and more. Set on a remote Scottish island, inhabited by a tight-knit community you can fully understand the protective nature of the people wanting to look after their own and the hostility the police, and others, show to strangers. This also adds to the creepiness, making you wonder who can be trusted. Links to a similar murder 39 years previously make you wonder if the island has protected someone too well or is this a copycat? 

As Sadie investigates we discover some of the ancient myths and legends associated with the island. These myths tie in with some of the witchcraft still practiced on the island, witchcraft that is possibly connected to the murder.

I really liked the character of Sadie Levesque. She's not prepared to back-down or accept the easy answers. She's isn't fearless, she has a healthy respect for danger preparing herself as well as she possibly can, but she's determined to leave no stone unturned in her quest for answers. I also liked the positive relationships she built with the pathologist brought in to carry out the post-mortem and the newspaper reporter, they balanced the negative relationships with the local police.

By the end I had an inkling as to who was responsible but I certainly didn't foresee the ending. In thrillers we expect twists and turns along the way and this story has a fair few but by the end I was shocked and saddened and I will freely admit to having a tear in my eye.

The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields will be published on 1st September in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a review copy.