The Drowning Place by S W Kane BLOG TOUR #TheDrowningPlace @kinkstah #DetectiveKirby @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

Murder on an abandoned housing development―and a web of dark secrets stretching back decades…

Looking for clues about her sister’s death amid the crumbling decay of a derelict and near-deserted London neighbourhood, urban explorer Connie Darke makes a terrifying discovery: William Stark, the estate’s architect and long-time resident, is hanging from the church’s vaulted ceiling.

For DI Lew Kirby, there’s no doubt that Stark was lured to his death―but who wanted him dead, and why? As Connie begins a covert investigation, desperate to find a connection to her sister, Kirby soon discovers that the remaining residents have something to hide.

Could there be a connection between Stark’s death and the unsolved case of Kevin Shires, a boy who went missing from the estate decades ago? And with Kirby and Connie both digging into the long-buried history of the estate’s darkest corners, what other secrets will be unearthed from the ruins of Grasmere?

The Drowning Place by S W Kane was published on 18 October 2023 by Thomas and Mercer and is the second in the Detective Lew Kirby series. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour. 

I have been so impressed with The Drowning Place by S W Kane, it's a story that is packed with atmosphere and tension, with the author slowly and surely revealing more to the reader. 

The Drowning Place is the second book to feature Detective Lew Kirby. The first, The Bone Jar, was published in 2020. Whilst I do have a copy of The Bone Jar, it is still waiting to be read!  However, this takes nothing away from the reading experience of The Drowning Place.  It reads well as a stand alone, with the author carefully adding any back story as needed, and she does that very well, it's not overwhelming at all.

Connie Darke is determined to find out more about her sister's death, and her quest has led her to the derelict Grasmere Estate in London. Connie is an urban explorer and well used to spending time in old, crumbling buildings, but what she finds at Grasmere is horrific.  Hanging from the ceiling in the estate church is William Stark. Stark was the architect that designed the estate, and one of the few residents still living there. 

Enter Detective Lew Kirby, who soon begins to realise that this must be murder. But who wants Stark dead, and why?

S W Kane takes her readers on a journey that is so well imagined and filled with characters who often appear to be more than a little strange. Grasmere itself is a major character in this tale, and the descriptive language whilst describing the estate adds so much to the tension in the plot. 

The author also manages to interweave Connie and Lew's own back stories which adds to both of their characters, making them appear human and so realistic.

An intriguing mystery story, written so well and encompassing such a vivid sense of place. Recommended by me. 

S W Kane has a degree in History of Design and worked at the Royal Institute of British Architects before taking on a series of totally unrelated jobs in radio and the music industry. 

She has an MA in Creative (Crime) Writing from City University. 

She began reading crime fiction at an early age and developed an obsession with crime set in cold places. 

A chance encounter with a derelict fort in rural Pembrokeshire led to a fascination with urban exploration, which in turn became the inspiration for her crime novels. 

She lives in London.

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