A Kind of Drowning by Robert Craven

 

This is an Irish crime novel: one of my favourite genres. It started out slowly and a little bit awkwardly but soon developed into a thoughtful, deeply moving story filled with atmosphere and vivid pictures of a small Irish coastal village. The main character is Pius John (PJ or John) Crowe, an untidily attired, lumbering, suspended policeman with anger management issues and a heavy reliance on nicotine and alcohol. Crowe is trying to pull himself together after losing his job and the breakup of his marriage.

After getting a job in a cafe Crowe meets a sweet little teenage girl, Thea. He quickly loses his job but Thea goes on liking her “Mr Grumpy” as she calls him and he feels very protective towards her.

Crowe becomes suspicious of goings on on the island of Inishcarrig which is visible from the village. He can’t help but put his detecting skills to use even though he is under suspension.

As usual, I am not going to give away any spoilers but this is a super yarn, deep and dark with flashes of humour and well worth reading. I would recommend Robert Craven to anyone looking for an absorbing crime story set in a bleak but beautiful part of Ireland. On behalf of my Irish ancestors ( I am Australian, after all!) I congratulate Mr Craven on a story well written.

In summary: tragedy hits a remote Irish village but there is one man looking below the surface for what really happened.

5 out of 5 for this story.