Jo Spain

With the killer's identity known right from the beginning, Jo Spain's The Confession is an intriguing whydunit.

Julie McNamara's quiet evening at home with her husband Harry is violently interrupted when an intruder calmly walks in and viciously beats Harry with a golf club. The attacker then turns himself in at the local police station and confesses to the crime. Station Sergeant Dean Gallagher assigns Detective Sergeant Alice Moody to the seemingly open and shut case. However, Alice does show more not believe confessed killer JP Carney's claim of temporary insanity and she valiantly attempts to link JP to his victim. She is also certain that Julie is not being entirely forthcoming which leads the detective to be extra vigilant during her investigation. Will Alice find the evidence she needs to prevent JP from escaping punishment for his crime?

The chapters alternate between Julie, JP and Alice's perspectives. Julie's chapters detail her life with Harry as well as events in the present. Beginning with their meeting and subsequent marriage duirng the 90s, her passages show Harry's meteoric rise as a banker who is intensely involved in bankrolling major real estate development. She pays little attention to his business dealings as she works part time. As suspicions grow that her husband is unfaithful, Julie begins drinking heavily and rationalizes away her misgivings. Even with the economic crash and Harry's trial for bank fraud, Julie still remains loyal to her husband and committed to her marriage. However, in the aftermath of the attack, Julie is forced to look at all of the things about her husband that she has pushed out of mind over the years.

Unlike his victim, JP is at the other end of the economic spectrum. Growing up impoverished due to his father's alcoholism after his mentally ill mother abandons the family, JP eventually dropped out of school to take care of his younger sister Charlie. Despite his rough start in life and criminal associations, there is seemingly nothing in his background that gives any hint as to what lead to JP's attack on Harry.

Alice is determined to find the connection between JP and Harry but she is fighting an uphill battle since her superiors view the case as easy to close. With a high rate of success in solving cases, she is quite an astute investigator who instinctively knows JP's attack on Harry is not a random occurrence but with pressure mounting to end her search for answers, Alice fears JP will not be brought to justice for his crime.

The Confession is an utterly spellbinding mystery that captures readers' attention from the first page and never lets go. Harry and Julie are not exactly likable or sympathetic characters but Alice never lets her dislike of the victim impede her quest for answers. This newest release from Jo Spain is unique and stands out from other books in the mystery genre. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this twisty and somewhat dark whydunit. show less

With our Blessing – A Stunning debut

With our Blessing is the stunning debut thriller from former journalist and political advisor Jo Spain, and it is easy to understand why this book has been shortlisted for the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition. Her debut is both atmospheric and compelling while picking at an open sore in Irish history that is casting along shadow over the church and state.

With our Blessing introduces us to Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team show more based in Dublin, when a body is discovered in a local cruising area, a body of a female, has been crucified and a message adorns her body, and her tongue has been cut out. When they discover the murdered female is a nun they are shaken to the core, especially as Christmas is approaching upon them.

Things start turning dark for Reynolds and his team when they realise that the victim was a member of an order and lived in what was a Magdalene Laundry which also had a mother and baby home. As they have to travel out to the convent which is out in the Irish countryside and need help from the local Kilcross garda station.

It is not helped that they have to stay in the convent and the winter is turning bad all around them, it enforces the eerie desolation of the former Magdalene Laundry as there are so few nuns left living there. All the detectives while out in Kilcross and staying at the Laundry have to face some of their own inner demons.

While Reynolds is investigating Father Seamus also is found murdered which adds to the complexity of the investigation. It also calls in the behaviour of the Catholic Church and the role of the state, as they dig deeper, as they know it is only by looking back they will be able to find the truth and the killer.

This is a wonderfully dark noir thriller that casts light on some parts of Irish history that both Church and State would rather remain hidden. This is a wonderfully vivid thriller that explores those dark depths and shows the more you try to hide the truth the more likely it is to come out in to the light.

This is a brilliantly researched and written debut novel, that has a complex twisted plot, not afraid to use misdirection in her story, Jo Spain shows us she has the potential to be one of the top Irish crime writers. Jo Spain manages to get under your skin and gives you a kick when she thinks as a reader you are getting too complacent and think you know who the killer is.

A truly superb debut, promising a bright future for Irish writing. show less

This is one of those books that, although very good, makes you feel like your brain could use a shower afterwards. It’s nothing to do with the writing but more to do with the plot, which is based on actual circumstances.

With Our Blessing is a contemporary crime novel set in Ireland that weaves in the sordid history of the Magdalene Laundries. These notorious and secretive institutions, run by Roman Catholic orders in Ireland from the 18th to the late 20th centuries and assisted by a blind show more eye from the government, housed “fallen women.” As the author explains at one point in the story:

“The laundries had been originally conceived as charitable refuges for ‘fallen’ or abandoned women but evolved into dumping grounds for all sorts of women regarded as ‘difficult’ by a judgmental society, heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. Some of the laundry inmates had babies out of wedlock, others had reported abuse by a family member or neighbor, while some just ended up there because they were homeless, had committed a minor crime, or were moved from other institutions. The women claimed they were shamefully mistreated - forced to work from morning until night for not pay, underfed, beaten, abused, and generally treated like prisoners.”

After a mass grave was found in the covent grounds of one of the laundries in 1993, an inquiry was launched and the case against the laundries was taken to the UN Committee Against Torture. It wasn’t until 2001 that the Irish Government admitted the laundries were less than salubrious. In 2013 the UN committee published its report finding that significant violations had taken place in the laundries, including cases of torture and rape. Babies were taken from pregnant mothers and sold. Nuns upset by what was taking place were afraid to speak out. Ireland issued a formal state apology after the report was issued.

As this story begins, a body is found in Dublin of an older woman who had been tortured ritualistically and crucified. She was soon identified as Reverend Mother Attracta, head of the convent Sisters of Pity in Limerick. Sisters of Pity had formerly been a Magdalene Laundry before Ireland shut them all down in 1996.

Several detectives from the Dublin murder squad, led by Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigations, traveled to the convent to investigate the crime. Before long there was another murder at the convent, and the detectives know they are in a race against time to find out who is the perpetrator before there are more victims. Because they suspect the killings have something to do with the convent’s history as a laundry, part of their investigation involves digging through the records of the convent from that time, and exposing its dark past.

Evaluation: The author does a good job of educating readers about the Magdalene Laundries without sounding didactic, and of presenting the nuances of a case in which practically no one, including the police, thinks the victims weren’t deserving of their fates. In fact, the murderer muses: “I don’t live in a society where you’re allowed to take justice into your own hands. And yet, I don’t live in a society where real justice is delivered unless you dish it out yourself.”

It’s a chilling story, and well done. show less

I've just read The Perfect Lie over the course of two days and I'm left wondering why I haven't read any of Jo Spain's books before. What a ride I've been on!

Erin's husband, Danny, is a police officer on Long Island when a knock at their door one morning sends him straight to the balcony where he jumps four floors to his death. This is right at the beginning of the book and is part of the synopsis so no spoilers here. The book then goes on to deal with the aftermath of his death, Erin's show more bewilderment as to why he did it, and then, shockingly, her trial for her husband's murder. Yes, you read that right. What? Why? How? That's what I needed to find out and I truly didn't want to put this gripping book down.

I was quite surprised when I started reading to find the book is set in America but it works perfectly and felt completely authentic. There are three strands to the story: then, now and Harvard, and the author blends them to great effect to enable us to unravel it all along with Erin. I didn't guess what was going to happen at all until the moment it was upon me and I exclaimed out loud. An ingenious twist in the tale coupled with skilful writing made this a really clever read with a subplot that was drawn in gradually and carefully.

The Perfect Lie is everything I want in a thriller. It genuinely thrilled me, it's full of tension and I didn't know who to trust, who to believe. The characters are written well and are interesting and complex, but this is definitely a plot-driven novel, fast-paced and exciting. If you're missing Line of Duty then you might find solace in The Perfect Lie. I certainly did. This is a fantastic story that grabbed me on page one and didn't let me go until the end. Bravo, Jo Spain. show less