I’ve yet to read the first two books in this series; which means I’m scouring used bookshops for them and hoping they get reprinted soon. Of the last five that I have read (and I think I’m up to date with the series now) the last two installments are the best.

Sam heads out of London to spend the new year in the country and we find ourselves in the middle of what could be a traditional English country village mystery as Sam’s friend Tom, as the “outsider”, is accused of the village murder. The mystery plot is quite strong and though I have a few reservations about the resolution I think the motive for the crime was strong.

Where this book shines, as did Chained!, is in the characterisation. It would be easy for Henderson to have made Sam a stereotype who drinks, takes drugs and stumbles over dead bodies in between making sculptures . And in the earlier books that I’ve read I think she was a more generic character. These last couple of books have turned Sam into a real believable character and I’m really looking forward to both peeking into her past with the first two series books and to seeing what she does in the future.