Just Finished Reading: Down to the Woods by M J Arlidge (FP: 2018) [472pp]  

The New Forest National Park, within easy reach of Southampton, is a magnet for holiday makers as well as anyone who just wants to get away from the city and walk in some of its 200 square miles of natural beauty. With summer just around the corner and tourist bookings already rising the discovery of a body was the last thing the industry needed. When details of the ritual killing exploded in the press things could hardly have been worse. Until that is a second body, also ritually killed was discovered. The fact that both victims had been abducted from campsites only made the panic worse. The pressure on the police was enormous – and not only from the tabloid press. But at least they had a solid Prime Suspect – a known radical environmentalist who had vowed to protect the Forest no matter what it took. The first victim had been involved in building work on the edge of the Park and had crossed swords with the local environmentalists before. But the second victim's links to the Forest was more of a mystery. Digging deeper Detective Chief Inspector Helen Grace’s teem found a link – but going back a decade or more to Southampton University. Could that be the link after all? When the third victim is found it became even clearer that the link, and the solution, to this series of crimes was buried in the past – if only they could uncover it in time to save more lives. 

Again, this was one of those books you pick up, read the back, think it sounds reasonable, and pop it in your basket. It actually turned out to be the 8th book in the DCI Grace series – not that it made a huge difference jumping in the middle. Overall, I can’t say that I enjoyed this read. It was, however, well-constructed. It kept me guessing right to the end although I did think that there were a few too many red herrings and it felt just a little overly contrived. The two things that really stopped me liking this book were the rather grisly nature of the crimes and the fact that I found it difficult to like any character portrayed in it. Whilst I had some sympathy for at least one of the victims, I honestly had more for the murderer. At the same time, I thought that the author spent far too much time on the personal lives of the police to the detriment of the overall story. Knowing that some of the officers were having trouble with their relationships or were worrying over their kids being bullied in school didn’t really add to the story or, at least in my opinion, make their characters more rounded or more sympathetic. It just didn’t work for me (although it might for others). I think a bit part of the ‘problem’ I had with this otherwise competent modern crime novel was a bleak tone that pervaded the whole narrative. It just felt too dark and dreary to get much of any pleasure out of. Reasonable if you don’t mind dark and heavy subject matter.