RATING: GOOD
SPOILERS!!!
We finally discover what Ben left behind when she moved to this area in Ireland. She finally confesses everything to Molloy. She tells him about landing a very good job in Dublin. Her colleague, Luke Kirby, made an impression on her: good-looking, recklessly ambitious and very intelligent. They started going out together, but when months later she introduced him to her parents and her sister Faye, she realised that he was drawn to Faye. After that first encounter, Faye and Luke met as friends, but Ben knew that Luke wanted more, and she eventually broke up with him, and Faye and Luke became an item. Ben cut off ties with Faye even though she tried to contact her. The night she died, Faye called her four times but Ben ignored the calls. The next day they found Faye strangled. At the trial Luke claimed that her death had been caused by a consensual sexual practice going awry. Luke was a cocaine user, and they also found traces of cocaine in Faye's bloodstream. Luke is serving ten years in prison for manslaughter. Faye is burdened with guilt and thinks that if she had answer the phone, Faye may not have died. She has also hidden the fact that she knew Faye was using cocaine from her parents because she doesn't want them to suffer more. Molloy tells Ben that she shouldn't feel guilty because she is not responsible for her sister's death; Luke Kirby is.
Ben solves the mystery when she starts reading the plays for the drama club that Phillis has left her. One is about the Troubles, and when she looks up the author on the Internet, she also discovers a photograph of Raymond Kelly, the man who owns the church, and from that photograph she gets to find out that Ray was part of the IRA when the Sadie was blown up, after which Jack Devitt's mental health declined. Ben wonders whether Conor may have known about Ray, and when she goes to his house, his mother says that he is gone and has taken his shotgun.
Ben ends up in the abandoned church, where Raymond Kelly, Allison Kelly and Conor are there. It is time for confession. Conor and Allison had an affair six years ago, and she learns that they have kept seeing each other every few months while he was in England. Conor asked her to leave with him, but she refused because her son still needed her. Ben learns what happened that night. Conor and Ray met at the church, and an argument followed because he accused him of killing the men on the Sadie. Ray hit him and left him there unconscious. Danny saw Ray leave and ran to the church, but he and Conor had a fight over Lisa, and Danny left him there in the church crypt. Allison let Conor out of the church, and to protect herself, she and Conor stole the body of the young man who had died in the accident the day before and left him in the church, using Conor's clothes. When Danny came a few days later and from the window she saw the body, he thought he had killed him and lived with that guilt for six years. We discover that Danny discovered the truth, and when he confronted Allison, it was her who drove him off the road and killed him. As all these accusations came to light, Conor points the gun at Ray, and when he shoots twice, one bullet hits Ray, killing him, and Ben is injured in the leg and collapses.
When Ben wakes up in hospital, Molloy is there and tells her everything. He mentions that it was Liam, the estate agent, who had started this chain of events. When Ray mentioned that he may want to sell the church, Liam decided to show it to some clients, and it is when Ben and Tom discovered the body.
Molloy also tells her that they have also arrested those who burglared the houses of some of the neighbours. It was Mick Bourke, the carpenter, and his sister, Eithne. Bourke started small, but when his sister learnt about it, she decided it was a good idea to make money for charity, and they joined forces in this scheme. Now both siblings are arrested.
I enjoyed this mystery and I am definitely going to read the other instalments in the series.
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