Book Review: A fingerprint expert obsessed with learning the fate of her missing sister
Sixteen years have passed since Shaw Connolly's teenage sister, Thea, slipped out of their family home in rural Maine to party with friends and never came home.
Shaw (short for Shawnee), now a fingerprint expert for law enforcement agencies, is certain that her sister was murdered, but she is obsessed with learning where she was buried.
Even now, after all these years, she continues to put up posters and roam the woods of their hometown with a cadaver dog. Her obsession takes a toll not only on her but on her family, driving her husband away and traumatizing her two boys.
But in author Gillian French's 'Shaw Connolly Lives To Tell,' Shaw isn't the only one who is obsessed. Someone is obsessed with her.
His name is Anders Jansen, and he calls Shaw frequently, often at odd hours. He taunts her about Thea, revealing details that hint at his involvement in the girl's disappearance — but never enough to justify an arrest.
As their cat-and-mouse game continues, the phone calls become more menacing, and soon he starts following her and making vague threats against her family. When Shaw grows alarmed enough to get a protective order, he violates it, giving police a justification to make an arrest. But now he's on the run, the police can't find him, and the calls continue.
Meanwhile, Shaw has a job to do. She assists police investigating the death of a man who was bludgeoned while walking his dog. She is called to assist with an arson fire in a vacant building. But then there is another arson fire. And another. And another. When the arsonist burns down the church Shaw attended as a child, she and the readers wonder if Anders could be setting the fires.
This well-written, emotionally wrenching novel is not a mystery in the traditional sense. It is apparent early on that Thea is dead and that Anders killed her. The tension lies in how far Shaw will go to learn where she is buried, what Anders will do if she persists, and the price the people she loves will pay for her obsession.
___
Bruce DeSilva,
winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including 'The Dread Line.'
___
AP book reviews:
https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
A suspect is in custody after 2 court officers were stabbed at a Manhattan courthouse
NEW YORK (AP) — A man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of two officers working security inside Manhattan criminal court on Monday, a court spokesperson said. The uniformed court officers had been assigned to the magnetometer in the southern portion of the lobby when they were attacked at around 9:45 a.m., according to court spokesperson Al Baker. Responding officers rushed to stop the assailant, subduing and disarming him before placing him into custody. The two court officers, who have not been named, sustained slashing and stabbing injuries, while three responding officers were also injured, according to Baker. He described the assault, which was captured on surveillance video, as a 'targeted attack' directed at officers working security details at the courthouse. A police spokesperson said the department has not yet released the suspect's name or what charges he faces. Spokespersons for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. New York State Attorney General Letitia James said on the social platform X that she was 'relieved to hear' the two court officers were stable following the attack. The 17-story Art Deco courthouse, completed in 1941 , is where a Manhattan jury found President Donald Trump guilty of trying to illegally swing the 2016 election by giving hush money to a porn actor . Last week, disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted in the courthouse of one of the top charges he faced in the retrial of his landmark #MeToo-era sex crimes case. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Officers who cover their faces could be charged with a misdemeanor under California proposal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday. The bill would require all law enforcement officials show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it exempts SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing San Francisco, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat representing Berkeley and Oakland, said the proposal seeks to boost transparency and public trust in law enforcement. It also looks to protect against people trying to impersonate law enforcement, they said. 'We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all and, at times, even wearing army fatigues where we can't tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia,' Wiener said. 'They are grabbing people off our streets and disappearing people, and it's terrifying,' he added. In Los Angeles, a series of immigration raids June 6 by federal officers, some with face coverings, triggered days of turbulent protests across the city and beyond and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the LA area. More than 100 people were detained during those raids and immigrant advocates say they have not been able to contact them. The state senators said that in recent months, federal officers have conducted raids while covering their faces, and at times their badges and names, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Concord, Downey and Montebello. 'Law enforcement officers are public servants and people should be able to see their faces, see who they are, know who they are. Otherwise, there is no transparency and no accountability,' Wiener said.
Axios
3 hours ago
- Axios
Sen. Mike Lee called to resign for "disgusting" posts about Minnesota shooting
Utah Sen. Mike Lee is facing outrage and calls for his resignation over social media posts that baselessly claim the man charged with targeting Minnesota lawmakers in shootings during the weekend has ties to the political left. The big picture: Prominent right-wing figures, including Elon Musk, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, spread now-debunked claims that leftist politics motivated the shooting spree that left one Minnesota state representative dead and another wounded. The lawmakers' spouses also were shot, one fatally. Driving the news: Lee on Sunday morning wrote two posts on X featuring an FBI-released surveillance camera image of Vance Luther Boelter, whose car contained a hit list targeting many Democratic Minnesota officials such as Gov. Tim Walz and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. One of Lee's posts read, "This is what happens (w)hen Marxists don't get their way." "Nightmare on Waltz Street," the next stated, in an apparently-misspelled reference to Walz, who ran for vice president last year. Lee called Marxism a "deadly mental illness" in a Saturday post about the shootings. Catch up quick: Walz and the previous governor had appointed Boelter to a civilian economic board, leading to a blitz of rightwing speculation this weekend that Boelter, who was arrested late Sunday, had Democratic ties. Reality check: Boelter's friends say he held deeply conservative religious and political views, the AP reported. Boelter's roommate told CBS that Boelter was a President Trump supporter and "would be offended if people called him a Democrat." Lee's office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. The intrigue: Lee "pinned" the post alleging Boelter's Marxism to the top of his @BasedMikeLee account on X and kept it there even after reports of Boelter's conservative politics surfaced.
