I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Sleeping Season by Kelly Creighton Published by Friday Press on January 23, 2020
ISBN: 9781708710927
Genres: Mysteries & Detective Stories
Pages: 276
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
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Someone going missing is not an event in their life but an indicator of a problem. Detective Inspector Harriet Sloane is plagued by nightmares while someone from her past watches from a distance. In East Belfast, local four-year-old River, vanishes from his room. Sloane must put her own demons to bed and find the boy. Before it's too late.' Creighton has a poet's eye for imagery and a novelist's understanding of the value of a good plot.' - The Irish Times 'A writer to reckon with.' - The Irish Examiner 'A novel of style and verve. The Sleeping Season is unapologetically feminist.' - Sharon Dempsey
The Sleeping Season really breathes life into the idiom that you end up taking your work home with you.
This brand-new crime fiction series focuses on the disappearance of a 4-year-old boy, River, who has mysteriously disappeared from his bedroom despite the fact that there is no sign of any forced entry, however, his jacket also appears to be missing. The case is wrought with missing information and hindered by the attitude of an ubiquitous mother. Its apparent this case will test both DI Harriet Sloane and DI Diane Linsky’s skillset. It is an emotionally draining case to work. I was very wary of River’s mum, as a mother, her reactions emitted a reaction of me rolling my eyes.
Amazing…simply amazing. Kelly Creighton knows just how to prepare and ministate each word until they develop a life of their own. They walk straight off the page and grip a hold of you and refuse to let go until it has your full attention!
The Sleeping Season keeps the danger hidden. It is full of misdirection from multiple sides. The author has an uncanny way of making you feel like your being battered by a storm. The frustration and emotion felt by our protagonists was very real and raw and I wanted to scream right alongside them. The Sleeping Season gave me a serious feeling of uneasiness but to an extent where I couldn’t put my finger on what was unsettling me. Kelly Creighton had me fully immersed and invested in the novel – the successful resolution to this case was of the paramount importance to me and I was not putting that book down until I got the answers to my questions.
I found a lot of the characters to particularly unlikeable. They all seemed to be unreliable narrators and that includes DI Harriet Sloane. It emerges that she has a rather difficult relationship with her own family and appears standoffish and cold. This story is one of realisation for her. It opens her eyes to the difficulty and the complexity of families. We discover more about her backstory and it is both a revelation and heart wrenching. It explains so much towards her personal ideals on relationships and marriage and also her hesitation about motherhood.
The Sleeping season is an imperfectly perfect take on societal standpoint on women’s roles and behaviour. A slow-burn that ignites and consumes by the turning of the final page. Captivating and I inhaled this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelly Creighton was born in Belfast and now lives in Newtownards, Co. Down with her three dogs, two daughters, two sons and one husband. She facilitates creative writing workshops for community groups and schools, and mentors new writers.
Author of THE BONES OF IT, BANK HOLIDAY HURRICANE, THREE PRIMES, she writes crime fiction and literary fiction. Currently Kelly is working on a detective series set in East Belfast, and a couple of standalone books.
Priscilla Bettis
High praise for the prose. I love it when an author is a skilled wordsmith as well as a good storyteller.