The Polish Detective by Hania Allen

Author : Hania Allen
Title : The Polish Detective
Published : 09/08/2018
Pages : 384
Genre : Crime Thriller
Publisher : Constable

     DS Dania Gorska is a stranger in a foreign land. Born in Poland and transferred from London to Dundee's specialist crime division, she is called upon to investigate a series of grotesque killings where the victims are first brutally murdered and then displayed in a bizarre manner. Although seemingly unrelated, clues point to the victims have been members of a local druidic cult. While solving these murders is Dania's priority, she finds herself increasingly drawn to the case of two runaway teenage girls. But when she learns they were also members of the same druid group she becomes convinced their disappearance is linked to the murders. And, despite what the evidence suggests, Dania starts to fear that the girls have not run away but are actually the newest, undiscovered victims of the killer . . .

     This was my first time in meeting this author, I was introduced to this book through the customers who bought this also section, it's always interesting to see the sort of books that get read together. It peaked my interest due to it being set up in Scotland and this is not a setting I have ventured into that often. I'm also always a sucker for a new female lead crime novel. I like the different perspective it gives me, also it seems to me that when it comes to male lead crime novels more often now we get the broken down detective, and while they have their charms you can always use a break from them.

     I think for me it was interesting that the heroine of this book while serving in the British police force was from Poland. It allows us the readers to get a perspective a step removed from the usual viewpoint. We get to see her having to navigate a whole new set of problems as well as the usual bunch.  To me she felt well written and fleshed out, she likes to deal with problems head-on and she has a life outside of work. Her life outside of work mostly comes in the form of her brother who she also lives with. In giving him his own separate life it means that he doesn't just feel like he is there for her to bounce off. These two feel like people you might just live next door to and see on the street. Overall I was satisfied in the amount of detail I got for each of the supporting characters and possible antagonist throughout the book. At no point did it feel like I was getting lost in their back stories and thus straying too much from the cases at hand.

     The story is an interesting case having to deal with the history of the land and people superstition. While for someone who is from the area they might have a basic knowledge of this thing for Gorska having been born in Poland she has to piece together the small bits of information she can pry from the locals to catch up, this also working in the favor of the reader. It helps to build tension into the story and leads to some interesting situation.  The book moves along at a steady pace and flows well, in doing so it kept my curiosity the whole way through and allowed for an enjoyable experience. As we tour Dundee and the countryside that surrounds it the author allowed me to build up a good mental image of these places without having ever been there. While I can't say that the ending was one of those shocking twists, I was left happy with its conclusion and enough intrigue to want to pick the next one up when it comes out. The authors choose to set her story against the backdrop of the Brexit vote works well with her heroine as it allows her to raise questions about how these people view there country and others who have come here to try for a better life. This obviously leads to dealing with racism within our borders and how at times this has brought out the very worst in people. 

     Overall I felt this was a well plotted and thought out book, it not only gave me a solid crime novel allowing me to try and piece together the crime but due to some of the topics raised within it asked some bigger questions that are still rumbling on now.