Book review: Fast-paced novel to keep you engaged

Amy Cronin's 'In the Shadows' is the final in her Anna Clarke trilogy and readers can enjoy this novel without having read the two previous parts

Amy Cronin’s ‘In the Shadows’ is mostly set in Cork and many readers will enjoy recognising familiar streets and landmarks.

• In the Shadows 
• Amy Cronin 
• Poolbeg Crimson, €16.99 

This is the final book in Amy Cronin’s Anna Clarke trilogy, following Blinding Lies and Twisted Truth.

The novel is mostly set in Cork, with some episodes in Spain, and readers who know Cork will enjoy recognising familiar streets and landmarks. The author is from Cork and lives in Kinsale, which also features.

The central character, Anna Clarke, works in an administrative role within the gardaí. When she was a teenager her parents disappeared and she was left with older brother Alex to look after her.

Now it seems that their parents’ bodies have been discovered, and Alex goes to oversee progress of the dig, reporting regularly to Anna. 

She is tormented by what happened to their parents, plagued by frequent nightmares in which she feels she is being buried.

Tom Gallagher is the head of a gangland family which, until recently, seemed untouchable. 

The gardaí are frustrated, often knowing his gang’s involvement in crime and violence, but lacking enough proof to pursue them legally.

Gallagher is an interesting and convincing character, whose behaviour is catching up with him. Family is everything to him but now one son is dead, killed by Anna’s friend Kate, and the other is in prison. 

His wife, grieving her family, has developed depression and a dependence on alcohol and is now in a treatment centre.

After killing David, Kate has fled to Spain with her sister and nieces. She knows Gallagher is trying to track her down. 

She’s using a false name and frequently moving, with someone warning her every time Gallagher discovers where she is.

Anna is encouraged to take time off from work to recover from a recent traumatic event. 

She is the sort of person who has to keep busy so when her journalist friend Vivian asks for her help, she agrees and moves in temporarily with her.

Vivian is investigating a cold case that shocked Cork over 30 years earlier, which is going to be part of a TV documentary series. She’s excited about her new role and Anna wants to help her as much as she can.

The two try to work out what happened when a man was murdered and quickly discover that people are reluctant to answer their questions. Vivian also starts to receive frightening messages warning her off any further investigation.

Anna is determined to find out the truth and pursue justice for the murder victim. She helped Kate escape Gallagher’s retribution and knows the latter blames her.

Meanwhile, Dean Harris, a convicted rapist Anna helped get locked up, has escaped and is out for revenge. Clearly Anna’s life is in danger from many sides. 

The novel is fast paced and will keep readers engaged. The author cleverly weaves the different elements of the plot together, with a surprising revelation at the end.

Readers can enjoy this novel without having read the two previous parts of the trilogy, as Cronin provides enough backstory about most threads of the plot. 

Where it left this reader slightly puzzled was the motive for the killing of Anna’s parents and the people involved.

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