Sharon Bolton - The Craftsman

Sharon Bolton – The Craftsman

There are favourite authors, there are authors I enjoy and there are authors who I always buy their books as soon as they are released. Sharon Bolton is not an author who I’d list if I was asked to name my top 5 authors and yet she is one of the few authors I buy as soon as she releases a new book.

The blurb:

Devoted father or merciless killer?

His secrets are buried with him.

Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago. Like something from our worst nightmares the victims were buried...ALIVE.

Larry confessed to the crimes; it was an open and shut case. But now he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves.

Did she get it wrong all those years ago?
Or is there something much darker at play?

Opening Sentence: On the hottest day of the year, Larry Glassbrook has come home to his native Lancashire for the last time, and the townsfolk have turned out to say goodbye.  

Days to read: 27 (audible)

There are not many people who’d disagree that being buried alive is one of the worst things you could imagine. A killer who gets his kicks out of knowing their victims are struggling for their lives and know they can’t do anything about it, is just about as heinous as they come.

The Craftsman focuses on the character of Florence Lovelady and switches between her present and her past. In the past, she is a new detective and being a woman is in the minority in a chauvinistic world where her fellow officers view her as a “glorified tea lady.” This is hardly a new concept and Bolton adds nothing new in describing the pathetic behaviour of Florence’s male colleagues and their treatment of her. What I did like though was that this was not the primary focus of the novel.

Florence is a strong, educated woman, who accepts the way of the world and doesn’t complain about it. She pushes back against the archaic ideals of her male colleagues but she doesn’t make it her mission. She is fully aware of the way of the world and despite running rings around the men in her department, tries not to make a big thing about it. Instead, she focuses on the case and nothing more.

I found this particularly refreshing and it made Florence eminently more likeable. Especially as she makes mistakes in her overzealous nature and naivety. A flawed character is always more interesting than a perfect one and Florence is certainly that.

The secondary characters are well drawn and Bolton does a good job or maintaining the tension and providing a good cast of suspects whilst not providing obvious motivations for the crimes.

Her investigations lead her to uncover a coven of witches. This is Sharon Bolton’s 10^th novel. Her Flea Marley series is gripping but I also love her early work which had a hint of the supernatural or at least raised questions of supernatural elements. A story that includes witches then is right up my street. In Bolton’s hands, you knew it would be a realistic portrayal with an outlandish element.

As with the aforementioned sexism, the introduction of the witches is down played and unfolds organically. They influence the story and maintain an element of mysticism but it is not rammed in your face.

The present day setting provides a nice contrast to the characters we have come to know and love. In the thirty years which have transpired some of the characters have changed whilst others have inevitably matured. Florence, for example, is no longer a confident, eager woman and now has a son to look out and care for.

Her doubts over the case and her incessant need to discover the truth, cause her to expose old wounds which were painful for many. All this leads to a conclusion which is gripping, if a little unsatisfying. In regards to the plot, the story is wrapped up nicely and I can honestly say I enjoyed it, however, there were several outstanding questions which I will not put in the review for risk of spoilers.

All in all, the Craftsman is another fantastic novel from Sharon Bolton. I love my novels dark, gothic and suspenseful and this one ticks all of those boxes.

My rating: 9.0