A KILLER IN THE FAMILY

4 stars out of 5

To be honest, this - the fifth book in a series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens - just didn't grab me. I'm pretty sure much of that comes because it's the first in the series that I've read, and what background was included wasn't sufficient for me to be able to really "connect" with any of the characters. That the story was very complex, with quite a few people to keep track of, made it even harder to process.

That said, once I got the lay of the land, so to speak - with burning pyres topped by women murdered by what appears to be a serial killer - the story itself kept me turning the pages (well, okay, thumbing the edge of my e-book reader). Before I get to the murders, though, I'll mention that the aforementioned Jonah is experiencing some kind of marital upset; that, too, most likely was an issue in a previous book or books. But here, too, there wasn't enough explanation for me to say, "Jonah, you're an idiot - grow up!" or sympathize with what he's going through.

The murders, though, are the primary focus. Finally, detectives catch a break when human blood is found at a partially burned pyre and it doesn't belong to the victim. At that point, they decide to try a new-to-them DNA search to identify the owner - or very close relatives of - the killer. About the same time, local resident and single mother Aisling Cooley sends her DNA to an ancestry website in hopes of finding the father who left with no warning when she was a teenager some 30 years earlier. She gets more than she bargained for when the police come to say that she's a close relative of the so-called "Bonfire Killer." But the only relatives she knows about are her father - who may not even be alive - and her two mostly-grown sons. Could one of them possibly be a murderer?

The rest of the book follows the complex investigation, with leads that turn out to be dead ends even though they have a DNA link. The ending didn't thrill me because I'm not a fan of cliffhangers - and there are two gobsmackers here. I'm pretty sure most fans of this series will enjoy this one, though, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to become one by way of a pre-release review copy.

A Killer in the Family by Gytha Lodge (Random House, August 2023); 405 pp.