The Dead Ground by Claire McGowan

The Dead Ground by Claire McGowan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Stolen. Missing. Dead...

Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, already wrestling with the hardest decision of her life, is forced to put her own problems on hold when she's asked to help find a baby taken from a local hospital.

Then the brutal, ritualistic murder of a woman found lying on a remote stone circle indicates a connection to the kidnapping and Paula knows that they will have to move fast if they are to find the person responsible.

When another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula finds herself caught up in a deadly hunt for a killer determined to leave no trace, and discovers every decision she makes really is a matter of life and death...

No one is safe from the killer that waits at the dead ground.


Clever and compelling story line with enough twists and turns to keep you going to the end. This had a reasonably good pace and believable characters, peppered with Irish charm it made this crime thriller an absorbing read. The novel was billed as the last in the series and I had not read the previous two but felt that this was easily able to be a stand alone book as the characters were easy to identify with. Set in Ballyterrin on the Irish border Paula McGuire is a forensic psychologist the daughter of an ex policeman father who is living back home and working on a stolen baby case. Paula is still very much haunted by the disappearance of her own mother when she was 13 and at 30 she is still unable to form lasting relationships because of it.

Paula is a likeable character with a strength and vulnerability that make her instantly real. A modern novel, it makes full use of technology and social media platforms which will connect with a young readership. It was a good plot with enough twists to keep the interest alive until the reveal. A well deserved 4 stars for this entertaining novel and I have made a mental note to look out for Claire McGowan's next novel.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.