The whiff of political scandal is swatted to the back benches as Juliet’s
suspicions grow over her niece’s sudden death and machievellian egos
interplay with the otherworldly symbolism of the Scottish Highlands to unravel a series of human tragedies.
In her desperate search for the truth Juliet’s role as Chief of Staff of the
Progressive Alliance sits incongruously amidst an eclectic cast of misfit
musicians, an underclass of vulnerable and exploited asylum seekers, and a
lascivious media baron who provide a smorgasbord of lies and deceit, as she plots a haphazard course to the source of this evil.
The author portrays a number of familiar stereotypes from the warped,
corrupt and seemingly untouchable media baron to the all too friendly media savvy politician ultimately dogged by lewd tabloid headlines and the crumpled, dissolute yet unyieldingly principled journalist searching for the big story no matter what the personal cost.
Ultimately though this is the story of Beth, a young lady who becomes
inadvertently caught up in an emotional honeytrap and gradually suffocated by a malign strata of society that deem themselves above the law.
The author’s almost subliminal use of the mystical climatic conditions
unwittingly creates a cloak of silence and mistruths that metphorically helps conceal the truth. Yet it is Juliet’s persistence and her understanding of the physical and emotional landscape that gives this story momentum and the catalyst for stopping the bad guys.
Malcolm Lyall is the unctuous glue that keeps the web of deceit from breaking but it is his unlikely denouement that leads to the downtrodden being shown the light of day and for Beth’s memory to be properly cherished.
Sea of Bones by Deborah O’Donoghue (Published by Legend Press. Price
£8.99). Buy the book at Amazon.
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