I was excited to learn that Alice Blanchard’s Trace of Evil is the first book in a new series, as she has written an incredibly engaging character in Detective Natalie Lockhart: a young detective working in the town she has grown up in, so it is guaranteed that she will have some kind of history with, or pastime revolving around, most everyone she interacts with. It adds an extra layer to her story when we know that around every corner is not just the current situations, but always elements of the past as well.
Throughout the novel, over and over we see that Blanchard has started with a concept we read often, but the author then pushed past the typical mystery or thriller tropes to give us something new. Natalie’s father was a cop, but he passed away years ago and is not a figure in the current story. Natalie’s sister was murdered, but again this takes place many years before the events of this story – Natalie was not created to be an avenging angel for her sister. And what most drew me in was the fact that Natalie is not an old, jaded, bitter detective, but she is also not the “dumb rookie” who constantly needs to be rescued by her older (male) counterparts. Natalie comes across as a young detective, which gives her a distinctly different voice than many fictional female detectives, but she is also clearly a competent officer who has earned her position among her fellow detectives. The shifts away from the typical formula we have all read too much of made Trace of Evil a true page-turner.
The central mystery revolves around the murder of a popular high school teacher, whose husband happens to be one of Natalie’s fellow detectives. While it may seem there are some obvious suspects, it is just not that easy.
Nothing, in fact, in the town of Burning Lake, New York is simple, easy, or straight-forward. The town has a dark distant past closely associated with the Salem witch trials, but there is also clearly some interest in witchcraft and black magic in its much more recent past – and perhaps even in the present. Knowing all this, Natalie has to unlock the secrets the victim took to her grave, but also the secrets of many others in this insular town, including those of her friends and family.
Blanchard created an interesting cast of characters that all come across as real, distinct people. Her settings are beautifully detailed and her masterful twists and turns make for an exciting read with an ending that both completely satisfies, but still leave room for more Natalie Lockhart stories in the future.
The only negative comment I can make is that some of the dialogue in the first few chapters felt a bit clunky or awkward. There is always something of an information dump at the beginning of a story (or a television show, or a movie) and it is extraordinarily difficult to perfectly lay out all the necessary background exposition in a smooth organic way. Blanchard doesn’t always accomplish this, but as it only occurs in the very beginning, I likely would not have even remembered it by the end if I hadn’t been writing notes to myself along the way. It is momentarily distracting, but definitely does not take away from this fantastic thriller.
I am so excited about future books featuring Detective Lockhart, but in the meantime I am going to be adding some of Alice Blanchard’s back catalogue to my TBR!
Trace of Evil is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A riveting mystery that introduces a bold and audacious rookie detective assigned to hunt for a killer who is haunted by the past in this gripping murder case…
Natalie Lockhart always knew she was going to be a cop. A rookie detective on the Burning Lake police force, she was raised on the wisdom of her chief-of-police father. These cases will haunt you if you let them. Grief doesn’t come with instructions.
But the one thing her father couldn’t teach her was how to handle loss. Natalie’s beloved sister was viciously murdered as a teenager, and she carries the scars deep in her heart. Although the killer was locked up, the trace evidence never added up, and Natalie can’t help wondering―is the past really behind her?
As the newest member on the force, Natalie is tasked with finding nine missing persons who’ve vanished off the face of the earth, dubbed “the Missing Nine.” One night, while following up on a new lead, she comes across a savage crime that will change everything.
Daisy Buckner―a popular schoolteacher, wife to a cop, and newly pregnant―lies dead on her kitchen floor. As Natalie hunts for Daisy’s killer in the wake of the town’s shock, her search leads to a string of strange clues―about the Missing Nine, about Daisy’s secret life, and reviving fresh doubts about her sister’s murder.
As the investigation deepens, Natalie’s every move risks far-reaching consequences―for the victims, for the town of Burning Lake, and for herself.
