
The Polferry Riddle opens in a seaside home enveloped by a powerful storm. As wind shakes the house and rain lashes the windows, three men drink by the fireside while the rest of the inhabitants lay asleep upstairs. As they head up for the night, the men stumble upon a gruesome scene: the lady of the house lies halfway off her bed, her throat slit from ear to ear.
It’s a powerful opening, and my love of a good storm had me wrapped fully into the scene. And I remained wrapped throughout an ever shifting romp of a plot that’s the sort where you breathlessly look back at some point and think “boy, we’re miles from where we started.” Which is a bit unfortunate, because The Polferry Riddle must feature one of the biggest let downs of a solution that I can think of. And yet I’m still going to tell you that I really loved this book.
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