Why does an amateur sleuth continue sleuthing after the case is in the hands of police investigators? This question has been the bane of many mystery writers. S. J. Bolton handles it beautifully in her book Sacrifice.
In most communities, it would stretch credulity for the person who discovered the body to also be the doctor consulted on the autopsy and also be able to access to protected demographic data essential to the case. Not here!
Sacrifice is set in a lonely community of the Shetland Islands. Of course there is only one obstetrics consultant, of course she would be able to access dental records, of course she would see the discrepancies and make the connections necessary to conclude something was rotten in the state of the investigation. Having begun my own medical career in the state of Alaska, I found the depiction of the isolated medical community and community relationships very true-to-life. There can be a sense of exceptionalism among those who front the rigors of wilderness and isolation. But Sacrifice takes the “us” vs. “outsiders” paradigm to horrifying new places.
I admit, there were a few times the protagonist was a little slow to make a connection that I thought was obvious. Was it because I am a nurse? Would a reader from a non-medical background find the unfolding more satisfying? You will have to tell me, wander-readers. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I also found it a bit jarring when the protagonist went from self assured to insecure and back again in a few scenes. But what I thought was a clumsy writer’s attempt at character development, turned out be a gem dropped by an accomplished one. Please forgive me, S. J. for doubting you.
P.S. I loved the inclusion of important homosexual characters. Homosexuality was not a theme in the story, nor was the character inserted to make a particular point. There were homosexual characters in the book because there are homosexual people in the world and the story would not ring as true without them. Score one for diversity!