Old Sins

Rating 4 out of 5

So I don't normally read a lot of mystery or thriller books but this one sparked my interest. The cover is what initially drew me in and I have to admit I was curious about the connections between a childhood murder, present day murder and a sex trafficking ring. Let me just say this book did not disappoint. I finished it in ONE day!

Maria is a poetry writer and teacher who is currently on sabbatical in Ireland, where she is also working on research for a new poetry book. While there a young girl is brutally murdered and before the police have chance to solve that crime more girls start to go missing. Maria soon finds herself working with the detectives to discover who could have murdered the girl she was close to and who is responsible for the girls that keep disappearing. Are the two crimes connected? Are larger forces at work? Will they find the girls before more people die?

Old Sins is a standalone novel in the Maria Pell mysteries series. Lynne Handy gives the reader enough information that you don't miss anything by not reading any of the others within the series. Though not a huge fan of mysteries because I find most of them predictable I loved this book. Lynne Handy's writing is beautiful, enthralling and even enlightening. She paints a picture that easily transports the reader into the novel. It does have some highly sensitive content with a 13 year old being murdered and references to dead infants and a sex trafficking ring. Yet the book is a page turner from the beginning. I will say that it seemed to lose some zest towards the end (like the last 2 chapters) but other than that the novel was an engrossing read which I truly struggled to put down. I truly enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who love a good Thriller.