Long Way Home
"With Eva Dolan’s sparkling debut, I have definitely found a new favourite."
Synopsis:
Peterborough is changing. Migrant workers, both legal and illegal are working in factories, fields and the town’s pubs. Most keep their heads down, eager to avoid trouble. DI Zigic and DS Ferreira from Peterborough’s Hate Crime Unit know all too well the issues that can arise from having a foreign name, no matter how long you’ve lived here.
But when a man is burnt alive in a suburban garden shed, it brings an unwelcome spotlight onto that world. The two detectives have to investigate a murder in a community which has more reason than most to distrust the police.
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Review:
One of the best things about being a reviewer for Crimesquad.com is discovering new authors to enjoy. With Eva Dolan’s sparkling debut, I have definitely found a new favourite. All the little things which combine to make a great novel are present in abundance. Normally debut authors have great characters, strong plots or a poignant theme. ‘Long Way Home’ ticks every box there is and shows no weak spots whatsoever. The lead characters Zigic and Ferreira are drawn with an expertise unbecoming of a debut author. Each has flaws and weaknesses which created empathy from me. Other characters such as the Barlows and Emilia were all intriguing in their depiction. The strong plotting drew my suspicions back and forth, tying me in mental knots as I pitted my wits against the author. I’m delighted to say that I guessed the killer about ten pages before the reveal which for me is about the perfect time. The prose is subtle and unassuming as it carries the story and then Dolan delivers a beautifully crafted description that paints pictures in the mind’s eye. One particularly satisfying aspect of ‘Long Way Home’ is the subtle way it draws you in and holds your attention. The word “unputdownable” is used far too often when describing books, but for me it is the only word which does the book justice. Another high point was the underlying message. Namely that the many foreign workers who come to this country live in appalling conditions and only find employment through gangmasters and intermediaries who fleece or even enslave the workers. To sum up, ‘Long Way Home’ is one of the best novels I’ve read for a long time and Eva Dolan has announced herself onto the crime fiction scene with a thought-provoking, page turner of the highest order. Her writing is dark, delicious and deadly.