Castle Freeman - Old Number Five

 

Rating: 5/5

Review:

Another gem in a great series

I loved Old Number Five, the second in Castle Freeman’s Lucian Wing series. It is beautifully written, gripping and quite a shocker in its way.

Lucian is sheriff of a small backwoods area of Vermont. He does his job by knowing everyone and generally nudging things back into place. This time an incomer bent on making a political career for himself begins to make life difficult for Lucian as a series of unexplained serious injuries befall some local troublemakers – something which seems to go back years. Meanwhile, Lucian himself is reduced to living at the office as his wife carries on at home with someone else and his mother begins to show signs of dementia.

The true joy of these books is Lucian’s narrative voice. Laconic and subtly wise in many ways, he paints a quietly vivid picture of the local area, its characters and its events. A couple of examples which I enjoyed are, speaking of a new female deputy he has hired:

“Deputy Olivia Gilfeather was a serious piece of business; rangy, red-haired and six feet high, more than an inch taller than me.”

And this little rumination after admitting that something has to be done:

“Now, I don’t care what it is, my idea is and always has been, if something has to be done, don’t do it. Nine times out of ten, it didn’t have to be done, at all, and you’re better off.”

If you like those, you’ll like the book – although be warned that this is no cosy plot and things eventually take quite a shocking but wholly plausible turn. In short, I thought this was terrific and I’ve gone straight on to the next (and last) book in the series. Very warmly recommended.