Mon 18 Jan 2021
An Archived Review by LJ Roberts: JANE ADAMS – The Greenway.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[5] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
JANE ADAMS – The Greenway. Det. Inspector Mike Croft #1. Macmillan, UK, hardcover, 1995. Fawcett Gold Medal, US, paperback, 1997. Setting: Contemporary England.
Cassie Maltham’s cousin disappeared while they were taking a short-cut home through the Greenway, an ancient passageway in Norfolk. Cassie couldn’t remember what had happened, but has suffered from depression and nightmares ever since. Now, 20 years later, Cassie has returned to Norfolk trying to let go of the past. But when another young girl disappears, it draws Cassie back into her nightmares. Detective Inspector Mike Croft, through the urging of Sergeant Bill Enfield, elicits the help of John Tynan, the retired detective who investigated the disappearance of Cassie’s cousin.
Ms. Adams has written a haunting, yet very human book about guilt and loss. Cassie suffers survivor’s guilt; why did her cousin disappear rather than she. Croft knows the anguish of losing a child, although his son had been killed in a hit-and-run. The story was absorbing with good twists along the way and touches of the supernatural. I shall definitely read more of Ms. Adams’ work.
Rating: Good Plus
The Det. Inspector Mike Croft series –
1. The Greenway (1995)
2. Cast the First Stone (1996) aka The Secrets
3. Fade to Grey (1998) aka Their Final Moments / Final Frame
4. The Liar (2019)
January 18th, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Jane Adams was one of several British women crime writers to appear around this time, publish 2-3 novels to critical acclaim, and then fade away. On a larger scale, much the same thing seems to have happened to Minette Walters, whose early books were megasellers and much praised.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:47 pm
Adams seems to have reemerged year before last, after absent from the scene for over 20 years, at least for the Croft series. That’s when a publisher called Joffe Books printed number four in the series. They seem to specialize in reclaiming old series and getting them back in print, sometimes adding new books never published before.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:50 pm
I’ll take back what I said about Adams having disappeared from the scene. She abandoned the Mike Croft books, true, but here’s a list of her other books, all with new recurring characters:
Ray Flowers
1. The Angel Gateway (2000)
aka The Apothecary’s Daughter
2. Like Angels Falling (2001)
3. Angel Eyes (2002)
Naomi Blake
1. Mourning The Little Dead (2002)
2. Touching the Dark (2003)
3. Heatwave (2004)
4. Killing a Stranger (2006)
5. Legacy of Lies (2007)
6. Blood Ties (2010)
7. Night Vision (2011)
8. Secrets (2013)
9. Gregory’s Game (2014)
10. Paying the Ferryman (2014)
11. A Murderous Mind (2016)
12. Fakes and Lies (2018)
Rina Martin
1. A Reason to Kill (2007)
2. Fragile Lives (2008)
3. The Power of One (2009)
4. Resolutions (2010)
5. The Dead of Winter (2011)
6. Cause of Death (2012)
7. Forgotten Voices (2015)
Henry Johnstone Mystery
1. The Murder Book (2016)
2. Death Scene (2017)
3. Kith and Kin (2018)
4. The Clockmaker (2019)
5. The Good Wife (2020)
6. Old Sins (2020)
Merrow & Clarke
1. Safe (2020)
These are all new to me.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:53 pm
As for Minette Walters, I was under the same impression as you, David, that she’d stopped writing after her first few highly acclaimed novels, but not so:
The Ice House (1992)
The Sculptress (1993)
The Scold’s Bridle (1994)
The Dark Room (1995)
The Echo (1997)
The Breaker (1998)
The Tinder Box (1999) (novella)
The Shape of Snakes (2000)
Acid Row (2001)
Fox Evil (2002)
Disordered Minds (2003)
The Devil’s Feather (2005)
Chickenfeed (2006)
The Chameleon’s Shadow (2007)
A Dreadful Murder (2013) (novella)
The Cellar (2015)
The Last Hours (2017)
The Turn of Midnight (2018)
I haven’t checked this but I think few of these have been published in the US. Likewise for Jane Adams.
January 18th, 2021 at 8:06 pm
We sometimes have a somewhat provincial view in this country thanks to writers not being as well known here. I can think of many highly successful British and French writers practically unknown in this country from the past to now including internationally known and popular series.