Crow Moon (A Martha Strangeways Investigation Book One) by Suzy Apsley

 

Crow Moon (A Martha Strangeways Investigation Book One) by Suzy Apsley.

Published 14th March 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed…

Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire.

Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back...

When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows.

As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe, including Martha…

Both a nerve-shattering, enthralling and atmospheric thriller and a moving tale of grief and psychological damage, Crow Moon is a staggeringly accomplished debut and the start of an addictive, unforgettable series.

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Investigative journalist, Martha Strangeways' life fell apart when her young twins died in a fire at her family home, in the remote Scottish village of Strathbran. Months later, with a broken marriage behind her, she is troubled by guilt that she was away working on a story at the time of the fire, and has barely even begun to deal with the grief that overwhelms her. However, she is trying to keep things together for the sake of her teenage son, Dougie.

When one of Dougie's friends goes missing, Martha is shocked to be the one who stumbles across his body in the woods - the horrific scene made worse by the bizarre verse scrawled across his bare back. She suddenly finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery that stirs her long dormant instincts as a journalist, and she begins to look anew at Strathbran and its residents. When another teenager goes missing, the connection she has uncovered to local folklore, an old Celtic poem about the crow moon, and the very farmhouse where her sons died, leads to her forge a partnership with the policeman in charge of the case, DI Derek Summers.

Rumours of withcraft and dark powers abound in Strathbran, and Martha and Summers must find a way to sift through gossip and hearsay to get to the facts of the case. They each have their suspicions about who might be the guilty party, but what terrifies Martha the most, as another crow moon approaches, is that her own son might be in danger...

Suzy Apsley's unsettling debut Crow Moon is one of those books that throws you headlong into a disturbing tale that grips you with icy fingers like a vice! The story unfurls through three separate threads that Apsley weaves beautifully to blur the boundaries between past and present, to create a timeless Gothic horror tale within a modern murder mystery. The first follows Martha Strangeways, a protagonist you can really get your teeth into, as she tries to get to the bottom of the shocking events in Strathbran; the second, plunges you into the unhinged mind of a nameless killer as they go about their grisly work; and the third, takes the form of diary excerpts from 'The Book of Shadows', written by a desperate woman at an unknown time in Strathbran's murky past. 

Each thread has its own peculiar timbre and intent, and Apsley uses them to perfection to drive the story on, and drop cleverly contrived red-herrings to mislead you. As the investigation proceeds, a pulsing slow-beat gradually builds up to a heart-pounding tempo, holding you fast to a story that keeps its secrets close until the thrilling climax plays out. Apsley builds atmosphere with a capital 'A', using weather and environment to imbue scene upon scene with a sense that danger lurks behind every corner - made all the more menacing by whispers of the supernatural, and the creepy cawing, of ever-watchful crows. There is something gloriously vivid and cinematic about the whole shebang, making it ideal for an adaptation, if any production companies are listening. It is going to take me while to get those crows out of my nightmares...

But this is not just a story designed to scare the bejesus out of you (which it does in spades), because alongside the discomfiting thrills, spills, and whodunit plotline, Apsley also explores some deeply poignant themes that cut straight to the emotional quick. There is an echoing theme about motherhood, which Apsley uses particularly well to show how Martha's profound grief both isolates her and gives her common ground with others, and mental health is touched on with a deft hand. But the most affecting theme, for me, is all about the things we cling to to save us from being overwhelmed by loss. Martha's emotional journey in this book is really powerful, and it made me shed a tear or two as I turned the final page.

This is a very accomplished debut, pitched somewhere between the feel of a literary love-child of C.J. Tudor and Douglas Skelton, bedecked with a Hammer House of Horrors bow. I am thrilled that it will be the first part in a new series featuring Martha Strangeways, because I am nowhere near ready to say goodbye to her yet! 

Crow Moon is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support the best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Originally from the north east of England, former journalist Suzy Aspley has lived in Scotland for almost 30 years. She writes crime and short stories often inspired by the strange things she sees in the landscape around her. 

She won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect in 2019 with the original idea for her debut novel and was shortlisted in the London Capital crime festival’s new voices award. In 2020, she was mentored by Jo Dickinson as part of the Hachette future bookshelf initiative. Her novel Crow Moon was also long listed this year for the Caledonia Novel Award. She’s currently working on the second book in the series featuring journalist Martha Strangeways. 

When she’s not writing, she’s either got her nose buried in a book, or is outside with her dogs dreaming up more dark stories.