The Great Divide
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley November 21, 2019
Author L.J.M. Owen
Distributor: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760685829
Publisher: Bonnier Echo
Release Date: November 2019
Website: https://www.allenandunwin.com
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The prologue grabs the interest from the very first paragraph and from that point forward, The Great Divide from L.J.M Owen simply must be read from cover to cover preferably without stopping, because although the narrative is relatively fast paced, it is essential to discover who is really responsible for such a heinous series of crimes.
New to the country town of Dunton in Tasmania, a far cry from his fast paced, hectic life in Melbourne, detective Jake Hunter is struggling to settle into a place he thought would provide the necessary break to reassess his life and make, if any, changes to his current lifestyle.
No hot water or lights in his tiny cottage is not helping and when he gets an early morning callout to help try and find a missing ten-year-old boy from local caravan park, it is almost a welcome relief to begin the day.
Safely reunited with his family, the boy is covered in mud and says he has seen a monster and the body of a very old woman in the vineyards, which is scoffed at by several of the adults. Jake decides to investigate the claims made and does indeed discover the body of an elderly woman with a set of footprints leading to and from the site.
Trying to discover who could have reason to murder the headmistress of a former children’s home in Dunton, leads Jake into a world of lies, mistruths, the dark, deadly secrets of a town kept well-hidden along with a crime scene that spans decades, and States
Nothing seems to be what it appears and why is it that the very few children who were cared for at the Home, can be contacted, all who seem to be suffering from serious mental health issues. What went on there and who was behind what is beginning to seem like a real-life horror story, also seems to be buried in the recesses of time.
As the story unfolds, Jake has to face his reality, face his personal demons and somehow try and discover some form of justice for the survivors of the Dunton Children’s Home.
Riveting reading from the first word, this is a murder mystery that will not disappoint, written is style that has created a work which will be long lasting, with a storyline, in parts all too real, that will linger well after the case is closed.