| Publisher | HarperCollins |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 20 July 2023 |
| ISBN-10 | 0007551754 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0007551750 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 368 |
| Price | £ 16.99 |
The Clearing
by
Forensic specialist Laughton Rees becomes tangled in the dark roots of the Forest of Dean when a young girl disappears and no one seems to care.
Review
Danger lurks in the Forest of Dean, especially the part near Cinderford. Adele knows this. She senses it. She has nightmares about it. Call it experience.
When her sister Maddie disappears during the eve of the summer solstice, Adele has the strongest feeling that the woods have engulfed her. She is not comforted knowing Maddie isn’t the only one who has disappeared recently.
The unusually high number of people that have gone missing in the area could be due to townies getting lost in the dark woods, or girls leaving the rural calm for the thrill of city life. Some locals say it’s the Cinderman, a mythical man who supposedly stalks the woods looking for the unwary.
Adele, too, is a spider’s web of believable twists and fragilities, coated in a gnarly exterior. I so wanted her and her sister Maddie to breathe the fresh air of freedom, to escape from their current situation and the memories of their past.
I am keen to team up with Laughton again on her next adventure, and will definitely look out her first story, even though this one stands beautifully alone.
When her sister Maddie disappears during the eve of the summer solstice, Adele has the strongest feeling that the woods have engulfed her. She is not comforted knowing Maddie isn’t the only one who has disappeared recently.
The unusually high number of people that have gone missing in the area could be due to townies getting lost in the dark woods, or girls leaving the rural calm for the thrill of city life. Some locals say it’s the Cinderman, a mythical man who supposedly stalks the woods looking for the unwary.
Forensic specialist Laughton Rees doesn’t believe in folklore. But she does believe in numbers, particularly ones over 50, when it comes to unsolved disappearances. She contacts Adele, and together they step off the safe path, looking for answers. DCI Tannahill Khan, Laughton’s almost boyfriend, although far away, helps where he can.
But something strange is going on in the forest, something rotten is festering in its underbelly. The townsfolk aren’t talking, despite Laughton and Adele questioning everyone, including Earl who owns a small but imposing kingdom in the forest. Worst of all, the local police couldn’t care less about investigating the disappearances, particularly Maddie’s.
The Cinderman’s story unravels with Laughton’s incessant picking at the loose strands, but the truth about the disappearances, including Maddie’s, is uglier and infinitely deadlier than any story about a mythological freak.
This is a taut little number and the ending positively twangs with tension. The middle sags a bit, but I am glad I kept reading because overall this is good suspenseful entertainment with sharp, senses-driven writing that oozes atmosphere.
Laughton, who I didn’t realise has already made one appearance in an earlier novel, is a beautifully flawed individual, prickly on the outside with a soft centre. I could really get to like her, and felt invested in her character from early on. This is a convincing portrayal of a woman by a male author.
The various unpleasant characters, of which there were many, are a little stereotypical, but reasonably plumped up to offer a three-dimensional picture.
This book offers atmosphere by the bucket. The author does such a good job of dragging the unwitting reader into the bleakness of the forest and campsite (bleak, even though it is summer) that they are both places I would absolutely avoid.
There are points where the foreshadowing is a bit obvious, and other points where the complications pulled me out of the story, but overall, this was a satisfying read.
Reviewed 26 February 2024 by Kati Barr-Taylor
Kati Barr-Taylor lives in her ‘cosy pigsty’ in the Dordogne. She satisfies her literary cravings by translating, writing, editing and reading.
