I would like to thank Anne from Random Things Tours and Flame Tree Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Published - 15/11

Price - £12.95 paperback £6.95 Kindle eBook

Jo Carter never thought she'd return to Clear Springs, Minnesota. But when the former journalist receives a cryptic note about the disappearance of her friend Sam twenty years before, she's compelled to find out what really happened. During her investigation, she learns another high school friend has died in a mysterious accident. Nothing is as it seems, and Jo must probe Clear Springs' darkest corners and her own painful and unreliable memories to discover the truth - and save herself from the killer who could still be on the hunt.

The best days of our lives in relation to schooldays is one of those phrases that tends to make me look at people a little askance but increasingly memories fade. Can you remember everyone still who was in your school form. What they all looked like; their voices and would you recognise them now? In the really interesting dark themed thriller Dragonfly Summer j H Moncrieff has created a compelling twenty year mystery where a small quiet town hides secrets one woman is trying to uncover without losing her life.

Jo Carter is seeking a quiet life. Reporting in the Middle East and around the world she has seen too many things leaving scars that now make her think a simple PR role in a quiet museum may be the better decision. That is until she receives a mysterious notice about a vigil to a young woman who she hardly remembers…but realises that it was for her once best friend Sam who went missing just prior to graduation and the school prom. Curious she finds the vigil notice was faked, a call back to her hometown also reveals that another former friend Amanda was investigating Sam’s disappearance but has died in mysterious circumstances. Jo feels drawn back to the small town of Clear Springs in Minnesota she has not seen since leaving for College. She discovers she has little memory left of those years but she also finds strange clues and unpeels the town’s darker secrets being hidden by those who do not want to be exposed.

This is a very strong, well-told thriller that very quickly hooks us into the mystery and also Jo’s battle to solve it. From a brief prologue watching the last moments of pregnant Amanda’s life we soon recognise that this tale will tackle difficult subject matter and also sets up that this is a dangerous place to visit. I really liked that Moncrieff makes the return home feel dangerous. Really helped by the othr mystery as to why Jo who is only in her thirties struggles to remember people or key events from what was an important year.

Jo as our narrator and lead is a very strong character - her journalistic instincts winning out over her desire not to return home. She is determined, witty and also is carrying some baggage particularly in the face of her estranged father who she knows is hanging around but she is trying hard not to start the next row. To aid her and give some valuable human moments Moncrieff adds Jack her male schoolfriend who she knew very well. They’re the kind of friends who you click with whenever you see them, and they bring much needed humour but also acts as Jo’s refresher course in who is who in this town and what happened after she left. Jo’s reporter skills see her interviewing key people and also starting to look for clues - always refreshing not to have just another police offer lead and I found her really interesting to get to know her and her past.

The mystery is a good one and there is an array of potential suspects we meet throughout the novel and I was surprised how Moncrieff kept us on our toes all the way to the final chapter. The finale is clever and while I did not see coming felt right for this tale. There are some very nice spooky scenes also suggesting Jo may be getting some help from beyond the grave. Is this more coincidence or something else going on. I never felt cheated with this approach - it added to the mystery and of course may or may not have a perfectly normal explanation. For me it added some extra dimensions and who doesn’t like a genre blurring from time to time. I do warn readers though there is a theme of sexual violence and assault including a very stark rape scene that some readers may wish to be wary of. Overall, though I found this difficult subject was handled sensitively as was discussion of mental health issues and recovery.

Dragonfly Summer is a well plotted thriller that doesn’t spoon=feed the reader on the plot. Full of interesting characters, an unusual approach in looking to the past for answers and a subtle hint of the supernatural too it is a great surprising frosty autumn read to help chill your blood just that little bit more. Highly recommended!