Marilyn's Mystery Reads

Readers will have to wait until nearly the end of the book to discover the meaning of the title, but that won’t be a problem since they won’t be able to put the novel down without finishing it.  The White Crow is an outstanding mystery, told in three distinct voices.

Philomena McCarthy is an officer in the London Metropolitan Police Department with a unique backstory.  Her father and his brothers are the notorious McCarthy Gang, the four men having a criminal history that goes back decades.  Despite this family past, and despite the efforts of those higher up in the Department to keep her off the force, Philomena is now in her fourth year as a police officer and is hoping to become a detective.

On patrol one night, she sees a small foot peeking out from some hedges and finds a young girl in muddy pajamas hiding there.  The child tells Philomena that her name is Daisy Kemp-Lowe and that she’s outside because she couldn’t wake her mother.

Disregarding the orders from headquarters, Philomena enters the girl’s house.  Further ignoring the instructions from her radio, she walks into the kitchen and sees a woman, whom she assumes is Daisy’s mother, sitting in a chair with a plastic bag over her head.  Her face is blue and her body cold.

At the same time, Detective Chief Inspector Brendan Keegan is investigating a related crime, although he’s not aware of the little girl Philomena found.  Responding to a security alarm, he discovers a man in a jewelry store tied up, his mouth taped and his wrists and ankles bound to a chair.  A bicycle chain is wrapped around his waist, securing what appears to be a tilt switch attached to a bomb.

When Keegan removes the tape from the man’s mouth, the victim gives his name as Russell Kemp-Lowe, which is the same last name as the girl Philomena discovered hiding outside her home.  He tells the detective that intruders entered his house, forcing him at gunpoint to come to his store, leaving his wife and young daughter at home, with the criminals promising that no harm would come to them if he cooperated.  It turns out that the bomb tied to him is a fake, but before the inspector can get any more information, Kemp-Lowe falls to the floor unconscious.

There are no family members available to take care of Daisy in the aftermath of her mother’s death and her father’s hospitalization.  Throwing a tantrum, the little girl refuses to go with the assigned social worker, and thus Philomena agrees to take her home until a more permanent arrangement is made.

The novel’s third narrator is Edward McCarthy, Philomena’s father.  Now calling himself a property developer, the gang leader has created the Hope Island development, a combination of residential and commercial towers he plans to build.  The concept sounds good on paper, but the combination of COVID and high interest rates has created a major problem for him.  Now his bank wants immediate repayment of his overdue loans or a majority interest in Hope Island; McCarthy doesn’t have the money the bank is demanding, nor does he wants the bank as a partner.

Michael Robotham ties all these disparate strands together with his usual excellent writing.  All the characters are realistic and believable, and the plot of The White Crow will keep readers turning the book’s pages as fast as they can.

You can read more about the author at this website.