K.J. Sweeney's debut novel is set in a tight-knit seaside community in New Zealand, when, after some stormy weather, Helena Statham comes across a skeleton that's been exposed because of a coastal landslip. It's turns out to be the skeleton of a young woman, likely to have been buried for around 30 years, a period of time before Helena and her family moved to this area, but a timeframe in which many of the locals are still alive, and can remember what was going on around then.
The police are called, a taskforce is established and an investigation gets underway, but Helena despite never imagining herself much of a sleuth, has time on her hands due to decreased working hours and she feels the strange pull of connection to this young woman, whoever she is.
Flagged by many as a cosy mystery, that description fits with the idea of the amateur sleuth and a long-dead missing woman. There's nothing particularly confrontational about this crime scene, except the idea that a young woman could simply vanish from view and nobody seemed to think twice about it. It's also cosy in that the style is very much that of a lot of telling, and not much showing at all. The pace is glacial in some areas, where the identification of this woman seems to take quite a while given the timeframe is clear, and the community pretty small. A potential motivation and a suspect pool slip easily into place, and Helena continues with her prodding, poking and talking to everyone method of investigation that does sometimes seem to take quite a long time to go anywhere.
THE BODY AT BACK BEACH is more likely to appeal to fans of something slower, with a lot of dialogue and a gentle processional style progress. There is time here for some character development, and Helena is a woman of a certain age, with a happy home life, a career that's been enjoyable, who now seems to be looking to shift her focus to something else. Dare we say it, but perhaps something with a slight edge, which she seems to be doing, within the setting of an archetypal small town and community.
The Body at Back Beach
Helena Statham never imagined herself as a sleuth. But when she stumbles upon the body of a young woman while on a walk, she can't resist the urge to discover who she was and how she got there. Even if it means upsetting the tight-knit community of the small New Zealand town she lives in, and uncovering secrets that have long been buried.
Thirty years ago, a young woman went missing, but no one tried to find out what had happened to her. As Helena investigates deeper, she learns more about what took place back then, putting herself in danger now.
Join Helena on her journey as she becomes an unlikely amateur detective, determined to uncover the truth and bring justice to the long-forgotten young woman whose story has been buried in silence for far too long.