Reflections

"Reflections" is an opportunity to use a mystery novel to do just that--reflect. In the case of this Jo Bannister suspense series featuring Brodie Farrell, our reflection is on the nature of evil--real, true, and perverted evil--and on the price of commitment to justice. Bannister's voice in this series is the voice of Daniel Hood, a voice of prophecy not unlike the Biblical Daniel--Hood sees much, and is blessed and tortured with understanding. Even the pragmatic Brodie cannot fathom the evil that Daniel comes to understand and must dramatically act upon in the blazing last scene of this novel. Perhaps you are thinking that I am failing miserably as a reviewer, because I'm not recounting any of the action and I'm not extending a tantalizing commentary on the plot. But it's a tough reading experience, and a hard moment of reflection onces you've read the last words. And when I put the book down, and stared numbly into space, I could only echo the last words of the book:"Finally Brodie sighed brokenly. "Oh, Daniel."

Serena Daws has been brutally stabbed to death and her husband, the prime suspect has disappeared. Their two daughters, fourteen and eleven, had the misfortune to find the body. With their lives in a turmoil, Brodie Farrell has been hired to find their estranged aunt to look after them, until all is settled and they can leave the country to live with their wealthy uncle. Brodie is a finder of things, not people and is hesitant to take the case. The gravity of the situation coupled with the request from her friend Superintendent Deacon weights the balance and she agrees. Brodie recommends her other dear friend, Daniel, as a tutor for the girls. They had been homeschooled by their mother and putting them into school seemed to be an unnecessary addition to their shock. Brodie and Daniel, despite her best intentions, become involved in the investigation and in the lives of the children, especially after the autopsy shows a surprising find. What follows is a riveting suspense story that kept me firmly hooked until the end. I read it over the course of one evening, as every time I thought I could stop, something new occurred to make stopping impossible. Barrister keeps the reader guessing as she spins a web of confusion, false clues, and facts so obvious as to be obscure. This is no happy-go-lucky mystery; it is an intense, dark, almost shocking tale that leaves the reader questioning events, despite the fact that the mystery was solved. My only real quibble with this novel is one that only I can remedy: it is the third of a series, with pertinent references to the preceding novels, that left me confused as this was the first one I have read. It won’t, however, be the last.

In the small English town of Dimmock is located the store, "Looking For Something?" owned and operated by Brodie Farrell. She hunts for things that people want but are unable to find. She makes it a practice to never look for people because the one time she did, she almost got somebody killed. When Hugo Daws comes into her place of business asking to locate his sister in law's sister she almost says no, but realizes if she refuses the request, two young children will be taken into foster care.Their mother was murdered, knifed thirteen times after a fight with her husband and he disappeared. Brodie agrees to help and when Hugo asked if she knows a teacher who can stay with the girls and his wife she recommends her friend Daniel Hood. He accepts since he needs the money and a place to live but that decision will take him to the edge of his own sanity and force him to make a choice no person should have to make.Jo Bannister is an excellent storyteller, an author who coaxes her audience to take one step beyond their comfort zone. There is a lot of misdirection and false leads in this British amateur sleuth tale so that readers won't catch on to what is really happening until the author chooses to reveal it. REFLECTIONS will appeal to fans of Alfred Hitchcock.Harriet Klausner