My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the fourth novel in the Detective Inspector Charlotte Savage series. This is the first one that I have read and while this is not strictly a standalone the novel the fact that I have not read the early ones did not detract from my enjoyment. It is cleverly plotted and well-written police procedural featuring an inspector based in Plymouth. Detective Inspector Charlotte Savage is an engaging character, married to a naval officer and she juggles her family life with the demands of being in charge of a major crime unit.
The death of an East European immigrant is a prescient reminder of how European society has changed over the past decades and it is balanced by the emergence of a member of the landed gentry, a local MP into the plot all of which gives colour to this novel. At the beginning the unexplained slaughter of animals on the moorlands seems an unconnected series of events another body is discovered on the moorland. They are all linked to a possible satanist cult and we have the basis for an entertaining read. Sennen brings all the plot threads together expertly.
My only criticism would be that some of the events in the plot are little far-fetched but the quality of the writing and the general excellent pace and characterisation carried the novel forward. There were quite a lot of characters involved and sometimes I felt that occasionally there was a danger that they became stereotypes.
Sennen writes confidently with precision showing as enough details for us to understand the other relationships operate. And there is enough police procedural detail to make it interesting without over burdening the reader.
I would certainly recommend this book and I put the first three in the same series on my to be read list [even though it is far too long]
