The second novel by Eastbourne based novelist Sheila Bugler out from Canelo
Bugler turned some heads with her debut novel I Could Be You released at the start of this year (which seems like ages ago), featuring a gripping page-turning tale set in and around the Southern coastal stretch of Eastbourne with train trips to South London.
This time Bugler takes a tale that is very much based upon you never really know what goes on in your own town and how secrets stay with families.
Dee Doran returns, typically tenacious and takes it upon herself to find out what has happened to a missing Polish immigrant set against a police investigation of a young woman, which her boyfriend detective cannot work on due to a conflict of interest.
Told with real care and precision by Bugler who builds out from the relationships we hold dear, it is key to see how relationships are tested by a see-all community and how such relationship is held in public view.
Again featuring a strong female protagonist, Bugler weaves a narrative that is gripping and finishes strong after a somewhat slow beginning, akin to her contemporary and Canelo stable mate, Marion Todd
For fans of Fiona Barton's work, this is a novel that can be devoured in quick time.
When The Dead Speak is out on July 9th from Canelo
