“There’s a devil on my shoulder, Anna, and he wants a word …”
– Twisted Truth
[ About the Book ]
Violent and seemingly random murders are terrorising Cork city and county. DS William Ryan is struggling to connect the victims and find a motive. The crimes have one thing in common – they are being filmed by one of the killers. With each kill the case grows more disturbing.
Anna Clarke, Garda clerical staff, becomes involved. In her personal life, Anna is closer than ever to finding the truth about her parents’ mysterious disappearance ten years before. But the path to answers is littered with heartache and it’s too late to turn back the clock …
Meanwhile, Tom Gallagher is obsessed with revenge. Last year his son was murdered, and the woman responsible slipped through his fingers. But he now has CCTV images of two women crouching in an alleyway, having jumped from a nightclub bathroom window. One of them is her. The other helped her fight off his men, and Tom wants to know who that woman was …
The clock is ticking to a grand finale, as truth twists and lies turn, and it seems Anna will have a front-row seat.
[ My Review ]
Twisted Truth by Amy Cronin will be published September 15th with Poolbeg Press and is the second book in this Cork crime series featuring Anna Clarke, a member of the clerical staff of An Garda Síochána. I have read Blinding Lies, Book 1 in this series, where I said that it was ‘a gritty, layered and fast-moving read’ and I can now report back to you all that Twisted Truth follows in a similar fashion.
Anna Clark is a tenacious individual who seems to always find herself in the most uncompromising and dangerous situations. A civil servant by trade, Anna lives alone in the family home in the beautiful town of Kinsale outside the city of Cork. Anna’s parents vanished without a trace when she was sixteen leaving her under the care of her older brother Alex. Alex, now married, has attempted to move on with his life but Anna refuses to let the mystery surrounding her parents’ disappearance go. In Blinding Lies she started to make a dent in the secrets of her parents past but still their disappearance remains unsolved and Anna’s determination grows stronger. But when the truth finally reveals itself, will Anna be at peace?
While she struggles with her family heritage, Anna is still under the shadow of a previous case she became embroiled in that put her life at risk involving the notorious Cork crime family, the Gallaghers. Anna had unwittingly helped a friend in trouble, putting her clearly under the radar of Tom Gallagher, KingPin of a huge drugs empire in the city. Tom Gallagher managed his business with an iron fist, keeping the heat of the local police away from him using whatever means he had at his disposal. But his youngest son, David, is now dead, and his eldest son, John, is recovering from a brutal experience that has permanently scarred him. Tom’s wife is comatose from drinking unable to cope and Tom wants his revenge at any cost. Anna Clarke is his first target.
Meanwhile the city and county of Cork are shocked with the news of a body discovered on a rural road with obvious signs of a heinous crime. With no evidence left at the scene and no obvious reason for this person’s murder, the investigative team are left flummoxed, until another body is discovered. The press cry out that it’s the work of a serial killer but what transpires is far far worse.
Anna Clarke is also reminded that a convicted rapist she helped put away may be released on a technicality causing all sorts of stress and distress for Anna. How much more can she take….
Amy Cronin has yet again written another fast-paced, high-energy novel. I would recommend that you read book 1 in the series to capture the full picture, but Amy does provide a sufficient backstory which gives a highlighted overview of what has already passed. The Gallagher family are depicted with frightening accuracy, one that would cross over to the small screen very well indeed. Being from Cork, there was a great sense of familiarity with the locations mentioned throughout, which added a wonderful layer of authenticity to the novel for me. In my previous review of Blinding Lies I did mention that there were quite a few threads running through this series but Amy Cronin does manage to balance them all together seamlessly tying both books together. There is one character that makes a repeated appearance that I could quite happily live without but I’m assuming that Amy Cronin has some greater plan in mind, so I will wait to see where she goes next.
Amy Cronin has a three book deal with Poolbeg so I expect we have not seen the end of the headstrong and steadfast Anna Clarke. It’s very clear that Amy Cronin is getting into her stride as a writer as her story gathers pace and her characters develop further. A highly entertaining read, Amy Cronin has written a very enjoyable series with a superb Cork edge that I am unashamedly biased toward!!
[ Bio ]
Amy Cronin is a writer from Cork, Ireland. She is a fan of thrillers and crime novels, and loves the escapism such books offer.
Blinding Lies, Amy’s debut novel and book 1 of the Anna Clarke trilogy, was published in December 2020 and Book 2, Twisted Truth is available from September 15th 2021
.
Twitter – @AmyCroninAuthor
