Deadly Thyme

By R. L. Nolen

When Ruth Butler escaped Texas for a sleepy seaside village in the south of England, it was to rescue her infant daughter from the perverted demon she’d married. But after ten peaceful years in Perrins Point, her daughter Annie disappears.

Not far away, a madman has been trying in vain to turn back time. When Ruth turns out to be a dead ringer for his mother, the voices in his head haunt him day and night. The only way to stop his mother’s nagging is to kill her all over again . . .

Ruth must rely on her instincts and the ally she finds in an undercover detective who’s in town on unrelated business, but neither can search for Annie’s kidnapper openly. Ruth could be deported for living under an alias and Detective Inspector Jon Graham would blow his cover. Nevertheless, the trail leads from a faceless body in Annie’s clothes to a smugglers’ cave, where the killer drains his victims’ blood an ounce at a time. But he’s got a special purpose for little Annie. He is patient. He will wait—until her mother comes to save her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SkipJack Publishing
• Release date: Apr 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311441508

R. L. Nolen

R. L. Nolen lives in Texas with ferocious mutt and a fat cat.

Reviews for Deadly Thyme

[lefraser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Deadly Thyme is a mystery set in a quaint Britain village that follows the investigation into the abduction and imprisonment of a ten-year-old girl.

Although the first few pages of the novel disclose why the girl was taken and where she is, this did not deflect from the mystery because the antagonist’s true name is not revealed. You are kept guessing who it might be, and there are a number of suspects woven into the plot.

Nolan managed the multiple point of views well, allowing the reader a peek into key characters’ perspectives by clearly illustrating their unique thought patterns. She managed to show the antagonist without giving enough clues to easily surmise the identity. However, there were two short passages where the story switched to omniscient narrator, which felt a bit disjointed. Nevertheless, the characters were all described very well – unique quirks and all. Spots of humour brought interesting insights into each character’s personality, effectively creating a diverse cast. I found some of the dialogue stiff in places, felt like overkill to include British slang and regional dialect, but the descriptions of the settings were imaginative and well-researched.

I would recommend this novel to mystery buffs and would read another book by this author.

[scot2-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love mysteries set in small English villages. This was an enjoyable one although one can probably guess who the perpetrator is quite early on. The author tries to throw a few red herrings in front of us but also gives some quite useful clues.