Review: Interwoven by Ripley Hayes

Title: Interwoven

Series: Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries: Book Eight

Author: Ripley Hayes

Length: 281 Pages

Category: Mystery/Suspense

Rating: 4.5 Stars

At a Glance: Interwoven is such an inspired title for this final novel in the Daniel Owens Mysteries series. Kudos to the author for using it to such great effect. If you’re a completionist who waits to read a series until you can devour it in its entirety, now’s the time to dig into this one. It’s not only some great mystery, but it’s a slice of life in a fictional Welsh town—for better and for worse.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Daniel Owen has spent the best part of ten years renovating his house when he finds the cellar. By falling into it.

The mysterious cellar has a mysterious door, and behind the mysterious door is a mysterious box … and in the box … there are clues to the shocking history of Daniel’s beloved home town.

A cold case is occupying Mal Kent’s time. A notorious car thief is released from prison. Town and police station gossip says the thief killed an old man years ago, and the minute he gets out, there’s another death.

But Mal has other problems, problems that threaten his future as a police officer and his future with Daniel.

If that wasn’t enough, the wedding is six weeks away.

Review: In the interest of not giving away important details, I’ll simply say that Ripley Hayes didn’t set out to give Mal Kent and Daniel Owens a breezy trip to the altar and their happily ever after. That wouldn’t have fit at all with the overall merits of this series. These men are battle tested. They’ve been tried along the way, and they’ve tested each other too. They’ve also judged themselves, and done so harshly. They’ve come through, though, and now they have brought the series to a lovely close.

And it happened despite the murders that definitively and effectively entangled Daniel in his investigative roots while Mal grappled with issues that dragged him away from policing.

Interwoven is such an inspired title for this final novel in the Daniel Owens Mysteries series. Kudos to the author for using it to such great effect: to show the intersection of past and present in a mystery involving Daniel’s home and the current murder cases; to show the connection between Mal and Daniel and how their lives are intertwined; to encompass their network of friends and associates; to show their relationship to the community; and, most aptly in this case, to prove that their investigation links their suspects to the victims, and the suspects and victims to the other crimes committed.

If you’re a completionist who waits to read a series until you can devour it in its entirety, now’s the time to dig into this one. It’s not only some great mystery, but it’s a slice of life in a fictional Welsh town—for better and for worse. There’s a good bit of worse before it get’s better, and also reminds us that families and friendships can be messy. Mal and Daniel aren’t always easy on each other, either, but there’s little doubt they love each other fiercely. If you’re a fan of this author’s other works, you also might recognize a couple of characters making a cameo and being their charming selves. Overall, well done.