Book Review: A fingerprint expert obsessed with learning the fate of her missing sister
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
San Francisco Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
4 arrests after home reportedly owned by Brad Pitt was ransacked by burglars, police say
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four people have been arrested in connection with a burglary earlier this summer at a Los Angeles home reportedly owned by actor Brad Pitt, police said Tuesday. Officers responded June 25 to a break-in at the house in LA's Los Feliz neighborhood. Police said at the time that suspects broke in through the front window, ransacked the home and fled with miscellaneous property. Detectives have made four arrests, Officer Drake Madison said Tuesday. He said the suspects' names could be released later in the day. Officials could not identify who owned or lived in the home, and no information was available on what was stolen. Pitt reportedly bought the property for $5.5 million in April 2023, according to Traded, a commercial real estate website. Pitt had been out of the country in June on a globe-spanning promotional tour for his new movie, 'F1.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Takeaways from AP's reporting on armed groups recruiting children in Colombia
Takeaways from AP's reporting on armed groups recruiting children in Colombia CALDONO, Colombia (AP) — When the armed groups that operate in Colombia's drug trade need new recruits, they are increasingly turning to the children of the regions where they are active. Confronting the problem often falls to Indigenous groups, who blame the government for doing too little to stop it. In Cauca, an impoverished department in southwest Colombia, a coalition of Indigenous groups has documented more than 900 cases of Indigenous youth recruited since 2016, including some as young as 9. And the groups say the pace of recruiting has quickened as armed groups have expanded crops like the coca that is used to make cocaine. Here are takeaways from The Associated Press' reporting on the child recruitment: Colombia's violent past is not past Colombia has endured more than half a century of internal conflict that continues today. Leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and criminal groups have fought for control of territory. A 2016 peace deal ended the war with the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but violence never fully stopped. FARC dissident groups rejected the peace process. The ELN, a Marxist guerrilla force active since the 1960s, and the Clan del Golfo, Colombia's largest drug-trafficking gang, are also active. All the groups recruit children. Where the dissidents are active, residents complain that they control everything. A schoolteacher at a village near Caldono, surrounded by dense forest and coca fields planted and patrolled by armed groups, said their presence in and around the school is constant. She described several former students, some as young as 11, now in the groups. One group confronting the recruiting The Indigenous Guard of the Nasa people formed in 2001 to protect Indigenous territories from armed groups and environmental destruction such as deforestation and illegal mining. Since 2020, they've seen armed groups amp up their recruiting of children to coincide with the guerrillas' expanded operations in growing drugs like coca. Guard members have stepped up patrols at schools like the one near Caldono to try to discourage recruiting. But they have also undertaken rescue missions to bring back children. One Guard member, 39-year-old Patricia Elago Zetty, told the AP of trekking across mountainous terrain when her own 13-year-old son went missing three years ago to confront the guerrillas suspected of taking her boy and another teenager. She said she and her unarmed comrades were stopped at gunpoint and spent tense moments before the boys were returned to them. But not all such missions are successful, with some groups refusing to return recruits above a certain age. What is the government doing? Scott Campbell, the United Nations human rights chief in Colombia, said the government's response has been 'ineffective and untimely.' He noted a lack of consistent state presence and failure to partner with Indigenous authorities on prevention. The Indigenous Councils Association of Northern Cauca, or ACIN, said the government has left armed groups to fill the void by providing roads, food and other basic services in remote and neglected areas. Colombia's Family Welfare Institute, or ICBF — the main agency protecting children — said it funds community programs and Indigenous‑led initiatives that have contributed to 251 children leaving armed groups in the first half of 2025. The ICBF insists it is working with Indigenous authorities and pressing armed groups to uphold a ban on recruiting minors. A recruit who fled and now tries to stop others from going One young woman who recently fled FARC dissidents, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said she joined the armed group at 16 not because she was forced but to escape family problems. She said she mainly cooked, organized supplies and cleaned weapons. She was afraid at first but was not mistreated. She eventually fled after a change in commanders left her fearing harsher treatment, or being moved to a faraway region with an increased threat of combat. Now she works with a local initiative that supports families trying to prevent their children from being recruited. She warns teens about the risks of joining armed groups. As for the parents, she said: 'I tell families they need to build trust with their children." ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Steven Grattan, The Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
South Korean court orders arrest of wife of jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol as investigators seek to charge her over various suspected crimes, including bribery, stock manipulation and meddling in the selection of a candidate. Investigators said the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim Keon Hee late Tuesday. The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul's new liberal government targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
