The Puppet Maker by Jenny O’Brien
The scrap of paper looked as if it had been torn from a diary. The words written in faint pencil. The letters rounded, almost childlike: Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me.
When Detective Alana Mack arrives at Clonabee police station, in a small Irish seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin, she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old girl sobbing on the floor. Abandoned in a local supermarket, the child tells them her name is Casey. All Alana and her team have to go on is a crumpled note begging for someone to look after her little girl. This mother doesn't want to be found.
Still recovering from a terrible accident that has left Alana navigating a new life as a wheelchair user, Alana finds herself suddenly responsible for Casey while trying to track down the missing mother and solve another missing person's case… a retired newsagent who has seemingly vanished from his home.
Forced to ask her ex-husband and child psychiatrist Colm for help, through Forensic Art Therapy, Alana discovers that whatever darkness lies behind the black windows in Casey's crayon drawing, the little girl was terrified of the house she lived in.
Then a bag of human remains is found in a bin, and a chilling link is made – the DNA matches Casey's.
Alana and her team must find the body and make the connection with the missing newsagent fast if she is to prevent another life from being taken. But with someone in her department leaking confidential details of the investigation to the media, can Alana set aside her emotional involvement in this case and find Casey’s mother and the killer before it's too late?
Heart-pounding and totally addictive, The Puppet Maker is the first in the Detective Alana Mack series that will have fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons and LJ Ross racing through the pages late into the night.
About the author
Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers.
In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.
Jenny is represented by Nicola Barr of The Bent Agency and published by Storm Publishing and HQ Digital (Harper Collins).
Social Media Links – Twitter https://twitter.com/ScribblerJB
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scribblerjb/
Review
‘The Puppet Maker’ is the start of a new series set in a fictional town, Clonabee Ireland, which features DI Alana Mack as its protagonist. I always love coming to a series from the start and this was a strong opener for this one! This is the first time that I have had a read book by the author but it won't be the last as I really enjoyed this one.
DI Alana (Alan) Mack is recovering from her last case which destroyed her life. She is now in a wheelchair and divorced, working from a small town just outside of Dublin. One morning as she enters the station she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old, who has been abandoned in a local supermarket. Her name is Casey and the team jumped into looking for her parents. All Alan and her team have to go on is a crumpled note that states ‘Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me’. A missing retired newsagent has gone missing and the team need to juggle both cases. Then a big of human parts is found in a bin in Dublin and the startling thing is that they are a DNA match for them being related to Casey!
I really liked the main character of Alana (Alan) although the shortened name threw me a bit for the first couple of pages, but then I'm biased as Alana is my favourite name! Her resilience radiated off the page, not wanting to admit that she needs help now she is in a wheelchair but also pragmatic with it at times. She definitely has a lot of layers to peel away and I look forward to seeing how she develops through the series.
The story was busy in places but then we also needed to include all the background details for the team as well since this is the first book. How the strands all come together was inventive and tension-evoking! The author has a forthright manner when it comes to describing the events and I liked that.
Let me know if you pick this one up!
