Book review: Investigating the personal struggles of investigators

Cork author Susan Lanigan handles the novel's sensitive themes with skill and care.

• The Planter’s Daughter
• Susan Lanigan

The Planter’s Daughter is a complex and compelling novel. It is a starting off point for a brand new mystery series and, at the same time, introduces readers to Keane and Xiao, two detectives working for An Garda Síochána in Cork.

Although the crime at the centre of the book drives the plot and sparks many twists and revelations, it is the personal struggles and inner battles the main characters face that linger long after you have finished reading.

The case the detectives take on is the brutal murder of Sadhbh Drummond, an environmentalist and eco-activist living in West Cork. Stubborn in her beliefs, she has made plenty of enemies through her activism and because of her Anglo-Irish heritage. 

Sadhbh comes from a well-known family who were once landowners before the Civil War, the effects of which echo today. When her body turns up after a devastating forest fire, the list of suspects is long, and the deeper the detectives dig, the more complicated the case becomes.

Before her murder, Sadhbh worked as a geography teacher and was passionate about educating her students on climate change, a stance that put her at odds with many parents.

Her complicated history with men also raises suspicions. Her husband, Ronan Furlong, left his first wife and child after falling for Sadhbh and started a new family with her. The detectives also uncover threatening emails hinting at a troubling relationship between a young Sadhbh and her college lecturer during her UCC days.

“I knew it would be hard. I gave it all up for her. My marriage, my reputation, everything. For someone who never needed to compromise. Her position in society was always guaranteed. I married the planter’s daughter, and I paid the price.”

Interspersed with the murder investigation are chapters set in 1921. These historical elements create a rich backdrop for the main narrative and help readers understand how those past events shape the characters’ world, and our own, to this day.

As the investigation progresses, both detectives grapple with their own inner conflicts. For Kevin Xiao, this is his first major case since transferring from Dublin a few months earlier. 

Since arriving in Cork, he has found himself mostly relegated to typing duty. Rumours about his successful tribunal case against racist garda colleagues follow him into the new office and clouds the judgment of his peers.

Inspector Rosa Keane, meanwhile, is struggling to find her place in the world. After coming out as a trans woman, her estranged wife, Lou, has driven an almost impassable wedge through their family. 

No matter what Rosa does, Lou remains furious and is determined to keep her from seeing their children. Rarely does Rosa feel truly safe as she navigates this next stage of her life, one where she can finally live her truth.

“Am I going to die? The sentiment was disgust rather than horror. She’d be buried with ‘Gerry’ on her headstone, her estranged wife and children mourning the man who had, in truth, died long ago. She knew people did that, erasing the truth. 

"Had read about it happening to trans kids who killed themselves. The parents would put up funeral notices with their deadnames and misgender them all the way through. No. I won’t let them do that to me.”

Author Susan Lanigan handles these sensitive themes with skill and care, never shying away from depicting the darker sides of society. Despite the distressing nature of some scenes, her writing holds a sense of hope and humanity that urges you to keep reading long after you intended to put the book down for the night.