HUNTED HARE

I received a copy of THE HUNTED HARE BY Fay Sampson from Monarch Books via Kregel. It is the first novel in the Aidan Mysteries.  Aidan and his family travel to Pennant Melangell in North Wales. Right there, I was hooked. While studying my genealogy, I found that many of my ancestors lived in Wales.  I even recognized some of the locations mentioned in the book from my research on my family tree.  It was like taking a trip to their modern day world.

Aidan takes his family there because his wife, Jenny, loved it when they visited long ago. She had written a book about it and he’d taken the photographs.  Jenny is now dying of terminal cancer. She wanted to experience the setting one more time and hopefully benefit from its healing properties.  Along for the journey is Melangell, their daughter, who was named after the location. 

Throw in great dialogue and heart wrenching sadness.  The descriptions were very thought-provoking.  The mystery left me wondering right up until the final chapters, and even then, I remained on the edge of my seat until the final page.

I enjoyed the novel for many reasons, but I didn’t love it for one: I couldn’t connect with the voice.  While other people will surely adore it, it just didn’t flow well for me.  With that aside, I definitely recommend this fast paced book to anyone who is interested in history and mysteries.  I’ll watch for the next mystery in the series.