While it won’t hurt to pick up the first Rebecca Connolly thriller by Douglas Skelton, Thunder Bay, this is one case when it’s not necessary. The Blood is Still, the second book, is a compelling story that stands on its own. Skelton combines history and contemporary issues such as drug dealing, crime families, pedophilia, and right-wing thugs, handling them through the eyes of an investigative journalist.
When a body in full Highland dress, killed in a weird manner, is found on Culloden battlefield, the media shows up. Rebecca Connolly, an investigative journalist for the <i>Chronicle</i> in Inverness, Scotland, covers the story. When a friend sends her to a source, a historian, the woman talks to her, but refuses to talk with the police. She can tell Rebecca about Culloden, but also about a movie being filmed locally about the battle, one that requires costumes.
Rebecca covers more than murder investigations, though. She’s also covering a story that could turn violent, a demonstration in the Ferrys. Mo Burke, a reputed drug dealer, and her two sons, Nolan and Scott, are leading it. Why would Mo call attention to her criminal family by heading up a demonstration against a pedophile moving into the complex? Mo loses the crowd’s attention, though, when Finbar Dalgliesh, a right-wing politician, shows up. He heads up the Spioraid movement, but refuses to condemn New Dawn, a possible terrorist arm of his movement. Mo isn’t happy, and she knows her son, Scott, called in Dalgliesh.
When a second body, again in costume, is found in a churchyard, Rebecca sees a glimmer that the two stories might be connected, the murders and the demonstrations. But, her new corporate bosses, bean counters, only want content. They’re not interested in investigative reporting. If Rebecca wants that, she’ll be on her own. That can only lead to trouble.
There are so many timely elements in this contemporary thriller. Newspapers are struggling. There’s a build-up in ultra-right-wing feelings, and local people are fighting to maintain their homes against outside threats. But, there are also those two unusual murders, linked somehow. It’s a story whose connections can only lead to tragedy.
Despite the violence, the drugs, the pedophilia, The Blood is Still is a thoughtful, sometimes lyrical, novel.
Douglas Skelton’s website is www.douglasskelton.com
The Blood is Still by Douglas Skelton. Arcade Crimewise, 2021. ISBN 9781951627317 (hardcover), 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.
