"The crag that sheltered the tarn from sun and wind was patched with snow, streaked brown with thin soil washed down from above. The surface of the water below it was still and menacing, black with the absence of light.
They said the sun never reached it. They said its depths were occupied by two immortal fishes. It was fifty feet deep and even in good weather it looked as if it went down for ever, to the very centre of the Earth. It was cold and it was dangerous. She swallowed back a tear".
Death in the Mist by Jo Allen is the murder mystery set in Cumbria. This is the seventh book in the DCI Satterthwaite series. It reads as a standalone, but it would help to understand the relationships of the main protagonists better if you read the previous books in the series.
The blurb on the cover catches your attention at once:
A drowned man. A missing teenager. A deadly secret.
Every year, on the anniversary of her son Luke's disappearance, Emmy Leach makes a trip to the Cumbrian tarn, where she belives her son has perished all those years ago. He was a demanding teen, with a challenging behaviour. "After his disappearance, she chose to forget those things. Fifteen years on, she remembered only the joy of his presence and the aching pain of his absence". Though his body has never been found, Emmy believes he son is no longer alive.
While placing a bunch of daffodils in a jar on the rocks and thinking of her lost boy, she spots something in the icy water. It is an abandoned tent, and it appears that it contains something or someone inside it.
The police retrieve a body of a drug addict, wrapped in the tent. This discovery will set in motion a chain of events which will prove that the past casts a long shadow.
DCI Jude Satterthwaite, his colleague and former partner Detective Sergeant Ashleigh O'Halloran and their team investigate the murder. Jude has to revive his first, unsolved case.
The case reveals that Emmy's past is complicated. And someone will go to any lengths to protect the lethal truth.
Discovering more about the past of the victim, Jude sees some parallels with his troublesome younger brother Mikey. Mikey is still bitter about the divorce of his parents, and resents Jude's overprotective behaviour.
Luke had also struggled with his parents' divorce, and hated his step-father Rob.
Emmy was aware of the mutual hatred betwen her son and husband, but sadly, chose her husband over her child. After Luke's disappearance, she cannot even properly grieve. "He'd [Rob] done everything properly and supported her, but she'd sensed early on that he'd felt only relief after her son had gone. She'd sensed, too, that her mourning, and the inevitable guilt that accompanied it, had quickly come to irritate him..."
Rob is manipulative and has a cruel streak. He controls who his wife meets and befriends. Emmy is isolated and is afraid of angering her husband.
"In her heart of hearts, Emmy thought this unreasonable. though her need for Rob's esteem was great enough that she let it dominate her..."
After meeting Emmy, Ashleigh's own demons reawaken. Just like Emmy, she has been in a difficult coercive relationship. Her ex-husband was also dominant and controlling. She sees all the signs, and tries to help. Why does not Emmy see it herself?
Ashleigh is still besotted with her cheating ex, but she's wiser now. Jude observes that the case is upsetting Ashleigh more than it usually would. Her empathy make her one of the best interviewers on the team, but her mental state is fragile.
As a way of meditating, and trying to find balance in her thoughts, Ashleigh spreads her trusted Tarot cards. But now the cards don't bring any clarity or consolation.
It becomes clear that Emmy is in danger. There are too many secrets both her husband and she have from each other, and the police.
Who is guilty? Who is the innocent party? The secrets of the past are about to come out.
Death in the Mist is a thought-provoking, melancholic read, which deals with issues of coercive control, manipulative behaviour, loss of self-esteem, isolation and misplaced sense of loyalty. It's the complicated love triangle that's in the mist. Mist of mistrust, unease, dishonesty and cruelty. Both men in Emmy's life, who claim to love her, are manipulative liars who would do anything to win.
Like the previous books in the series, Death in the mist is a wistful contemplation of the human relationships, our frailties and strengths.
It's a compelling story, with complex, believable characters and a shocking ending.
If you liked reading this review, you might want to catch up on the reviews of the previous books in the series.
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Mist-DCI-Satterthwaite-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09KYJK6H9
US - https://www.amazon.com/Death-Mist-DCI-Satterthwaite-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09KYJK6H
This review is part of the blog tour for Death in the Mist.
Many thanks to Jo Allen and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book.
Author Bio –
Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University, with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in geography and Earth science. She's been writing for pleasure and publication for as long as she can remember. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young, in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. She wrote online articles on travel and on her favourite academic subject, Earth science. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read -- crime.
Jo lives in the English Lakes, where the DCI Satterthwaite series is set. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she's a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/JoAllenAuthor
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