Every once in a while, it’s good to read outside of your comfort zone. Personally speaking, I have always been most interested in reading towards the more hard-boiled end of the crime fiction spectrum, for example the gritty realism of Don Winslow’s Cartel series, or more recently SA Cosby’s fantastic contemporary thrillers which shine a light on racial division in American society. When I do pick up a book set in the United Kingdom, it’s more likely than not to have an espionage angle, such as those written by Mick Herron or James Wolff.
All this is to say Lie To Me represents something of a departure for me. This is crime fiction as escapism, a comforting place where, by and large, social, political and moral concerns from the wider world don’t factor much into the character’s lives. It might not be entirely accurate, but it feels like this is a place where everybody knows everybody else. There are no strangers. This is crime fiction as Sunday evening TV. But it’s worth remembering, that that’s prime time.
The setting is coastal Lincolnshire, a small town called Humberston. Crime here, I get the impression, is of the type which is more of a nuisance than anything else, so when a corpse is discovered on the beach by a group retired people who on a volunteer litter pick the local police request support from outside. Enter series stalwarts DS Karen Hart and DS Arnie Hodgson.
Hart is usually the main character and the whole series of 12 books is named for her, but in Lie To Me, it’s Hodgson who takes centre stage. The corpse is that of Damon Walker, someone he knows.
As teenagers, more than 30 years ago, Walker and Hodgson had been part of a close-knit group of friends. Then, one night at a local fair, everything changed. Walker disappeared, another friend committed suicide, and the group, though they all continued to live locally, grew apart. Hodgson was drunk at the time and can remember very little of that night. Ever since, he has carried with a secret sense of shame and guilt, irrational though it may be, that he wasn’t able to save his friends.
Hart is quick to realise there’s more than one mystery to solve. Not only who is responsible for the murder of Walker – a brand on his chest, of a scythe inside a ring, committed post-mortem, rules out an accidental death – but also why did Walker disappear in the first place? Where had he been living, and why did he return?
The majority of the novel is told from the detective’s point of view and there is a satisfying clarity to their investigative choices. If you enjoy a strong procedural or investigative element in your reading, then the Karen Hart series may well be for you. There are more deaths, again featuring the scythe branding, but these happen off the page.
In our author interview, DS Butler describes her love for the Lincolnshire coastline and that comes through clearly in the novel. She packs the story full of little local details which brings the setting to life. Another highlight is her portrayal of Hodgson’s struggle to come to terms with Walker’s reappearance then death. In particular, I enjoyed the way he struggles to maintain his professionalism in such a personal case. Of all of the characters in the novel, he is the one who most comes alive.
Elsewhere, sub plots focus mainly on the personal lives of investigators. Hodgson is just starting a serious relationship and Hart will be getting married soon. Perhaps, I would have been more invested in this if I had read more of the series. Butler has suggested that the first novel, Bring Them Home, might be a good place to start.
In some ways, Lie To Me, with its parochial setting and emphasis on the personal lives of its characters, could be considered old-fashioned. That’s not necessarily a negative, but something to be aware off. Judged on that basis, not quite a cosy but not especially gritty either, Lie To Me is an effective, enjoyable diversion.
The Lost Women by Tim Weaver is another regional British crime novel about a 30 year disappearance. Take a look at our review here.
Thomas & Mercer
Print/Kindle/iBook
£4.49
CFL Rating: 3 Stars
