In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward is a debut novel that although was a little slow moving, was well crafted, thoughtful and quite chilling. In 1978 two young girls, Rachel and Sophie, were kidnapped as they walked to school, Rachel got away but Sophie was never seen again. This cold case was brought back to life 30 years later by first, the suicide of Sophie’s mother and then, the murder of a woman who had been a teacher at the girls’ school.

DI Francis Sadler is put in charge of the case and he is ably assisted by DC Connie Childs. They return to the original case and try to look at it from new angles to see if they can find answers. They are convinced that all three cases are connected but finding the connection is difficult. The child victim Rachel, is now a full grown woman but doesn’t remember much about her abduction. It’s only when the police start to dig into family connections that some long buried secrets come to the surface.

This investigation of a cold case set in the chill of a peak district winter made for an atmospheric read. I found plot very intriguing but felt that the author got bogged down in details which caused the story to get off-track every so often but overall this was a solid debut that was absorbing and intelligent. I will certainly be looking for more by this author. ( )

In Bitter Chill begins when the body of an elderly woman, Yvonne Jenkins, is found in a Derbyshire hotel room. DC Connie Childs informs her boss, DI Francis Sadler that it appears to be a suicide. As they investigate further they begin to wonder if the death is somehow connected to a decades old cold case. Thirty years ago, on the same date, two eight-year-old girls, Rachel Jones and Sophie Jenkins, were abducted on the way to school. Rachel was found unharmed at the edge of the forest, but unable to remember anything except that her abductor was a woman. Sophie, Yvonne’s daughter, was never again.

Rachel Jones is now a genealogist, determined to live her life away from the shadow of the 1978 tragedy. Her grandmother Nancy, is the only remaining family link for Rachel to her troubled childhood. The story gets more complicated when the body of teacher, Penny Lander, with clear signs of having been strangled, appears on the same spot where Rachel Jones turned up after her abduction.

I enjoyed this book and thought the story line was quite interesting. The author managed to conceal as much as possible until the very end. Nothing is clear and no one is quite what he or she seems to be. DI Francis Sadler and young, eager DS Connie Childs were interesting characters and well drawn. The way in which the novel switches between the viewpoints of the investigators and of Rachel kept the story moving quickly. I really enjoyed it and look forward to another book by this debut author. ( )

A good police procedural mystery ( )

Two girls disappear in a small English countryside town in 1978. One of them walks out of the woods alive, while the other is never found. Over thirty years later, the mother of the still missing girl commits suicide. Days later, another body is found. For present day detectives and Rachel, the girl who survived the day she still has no memory of, the present day murders are bringing to light questions that have never been answered and the 1978 case is looked at with fresh eyes. At some points in this novel I was a tad confused because a few of the characters weren't as well developed as I would have liked, and I think it made them slightly less memorable than they could of been. But, overall, this was a quick read with a great setting I enjoyed sinking into. I really wanted to keep reading to know how all the murders were connected and what happened in 1978, and I was not disappointed. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this author.

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

( )

A thoroughly intriguing read with twists and turns aplenty. Stories about missing children are always fascinating and this one has a completely unique back story. Rachel who survived the kidnapping has developed a career in genealogy but why does she focus only on the female side of her family? and what secrets is her feisty grandmother hiding? This kept me reading well into the night and the next in the series is a must buy for me. Excellent. ( )