When one reads a story like this, set in 1912 (does not seem so very long ago) you begin to realize what advances have been made in police procedures, methods, detective work. When May Day dawned and when the May Queen and her chief attendant are missing it sets up a furore in the small village especially since one was the local manor's daughter and the other the daughter of a former vicar.
Discovery of blood stained clothes found near the house of a vagrant sees that he is in prison for the abductions and murders despite no bodies being ever found. Fast forward decades and an old grainy film is shown from the archives and an image of the girl and this man at the time of the fair, seals his fate and he is bound to hang.
The story goes along from that point with a surprising ending. Told from the point of view of one of the victims mothers - you can see the idea and morality of the time that whatever happens you must seal over the cracks and even though presumed dead you must maintain the characters of the girls and nothing must sully that - truths or untruths all hidden so that it all becomes very palatable. The hypocrisy and moral standards of the time.
Very good language and descriptive this was a good read.
Sent by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Aria.
This sounds rather good. I like the setting and time period for a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like a good one!
ReplyDeleteSeems you enjoyed it quite a bit, thanks for sharing your thoughts
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting for a lot of reasons.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point about morality and ethics changing and the way we read stories from the past. Sometimes it is very hard for modern reader to wrap their heads around these changes.
I am intrigued. I do like the question of moral standards at the time and how it could change the "truths" of what really happened. I'm also putting this on my "to read" list.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very intriguing. I noticed the word "Lost" in a title seems appealing somehow.
ReplyDeleteYou've convinced me. I want to read this one. I am glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete