Review: The Solstice by Matt Brolly

The Solstice (Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell, Book #7)

by Matt Brolly

Release Date: September 17, 2024

2024 Thomas & Mercer

Ebook ARC; 296 Pages

ISBN: 978-1662520402

ASIN: B0CTSBD6MR

Audiobook: B0CZ4MFLY9

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

4.5 / 5 Stars  

Summary

In a cave near Weston, potholers discover what they think are human remains. The bones are identified as belonging to Hugo Latchford, a boy who went missing a decade ago, and whose parents belonged to a quasi-religious cult masquerading as environmental activists. It’s not long before rumours that he was sacrificed in a midsummer ritual resurface.

Returning to duty from maternity leave, DI Louise Blackwell finds herself leading the investigation, soon discovering that Hugo’s parents are still alive and the cult very much still active.

As she begins to fathom the ghoulish depths of the group’s pagan beliefs, new mother Louise is profoundly disturbed by the case. And with the Summer Solstice fast approaching, she’s faced with the terrifying prospect that the group might be preparing for their next sacrifice…

 

My Thoughts

The Solstice is the next book in the Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell mystery series, and this series is fast becoming one of my favourite series.  I love how the author blends the difficulties of Louise's daily life, especially now that she is a new mother, with the demands of the job and the toll it takes on her mental and physical health.  Having been off for several months, Louise is torn between her love for the job, the demands of motherhood, dealing with police officers with which she has not worked in the past, and mentoring new officers. Having written a thesis when my son was in diapers and pregnant with my second child, I can definitely empathize with the demands of parenthood and how difficult going back to work was for Louise.

 

Louise is a great character and I love how her character has developed throughout the novels. She is hard-working, dedicated, and tenacious, she now has to grapple with the demands and limits motherhood places on her job. She also is trying to deal with her new emotional state as this case involves the death of a young child (I am not spoiling anything as you learn this in the first chapter) and she is unprepared for the emotional toll this is putting on her mind so she is struggling to detach herself from her own emotions, something she has more difficulty doing now that she is a mother.  It made her much more relatable and I enjoyed this new phase in her life.

 

There was a mix of old and new secondary characters, something I was expecting, and although it took me awhile to get used to the new ones, they did grow on me as the plot went along. It is sometimes hard to let go of old characters, especially when this is book seven, but I did take a liking to the new ones and look forward to learning more about them as the story progresses in further books. Although some of the other favourites took much more of a secondary role than I thought, I do think they will play more prominent roles in future books once the new characters are established. 

The plot itself is quite thought-provoking and sent me into a deep dive into other books featuring cults when I was finished as I grappled with the idea that people would be willing to give up everything they owned for the thought of comfort and new-found family, not realizing the difficulties they would have when they tried to leave.  For me, I had this feeling of tension and dread throughout the story wondering what was going to happen, and although it started off slowly, it built up to quite a tense-filled ending.  There was also a sub-plot involving Louise that wasn't resolved in this book, something that will continue in the next one and I was a little annoyed about that only because I wanted to know what the decision was NOW.  

Verdict

The Solstice had a great, multi-layered plot with characters that were relatable and sympathetic.  I did find the concept quite chilling and I have difficulty grasping how people would be willing to give up everything they own to someone/something else.  While I understand there are some good communes out there, we hear so many negative stories that this story tends to resonate with the difficulty of really knowing how to tell the difference.  The plot was complex and downright eerie. And while the book could be read as a standalone, I do recommend reading the previous books in this series as there are some spoilers in this book for previous books.