I am an ARC reader and this is my honest opinion. If you're looking for fast paced excitement, this book is not for you. In fact it started so slow that if I hadn't agreed to read an advanced reader copy and review it, I probably would have given it up. It's set in a time in the past that I found hard to define. Before computers or mobile phones, homosexuality was legal but still not freely talked about and some characters remembered what the older generation did in the war, but off road vehicles were popular with rich people who didn't need them and a once popular holiday resort (that were popular in the 1950s) was abandoned - so maybe late 1960s or 70s - I couldn't be sure. From childhood memories, the author's description of a small seaside town in Devon, England is accurate. The story is told through the eyes of an older man recalling events from earlier in his life, involving his partner's large, complicated family and hidden secrets that, as the town policeman, he needed to unravel. I think the book must be a lot about philosophy - the narrator thinking a lot about what was being said and why and what others were thinking. There is a murder that brings the idea of family secrets to the surface and affects the relationship between the narrator and his partner. It all comes to a head near the end in a sort of drawn out Agatha Christie style revelation. Honestly I didn't guess what was going on but I did guess the crux of the main family secret.
british-literature detective-mystery english-historical1 comment Laura68 3

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I d this book, it is tense and multi layered and intersting, however I found it a little introspective for my taste.

Robert (Robbie, or Rob but never Bob) was a police Constable walking the beat in a small English town in the 1980s. In this book he is reminiscing many years later about a series of events which rocked the town and impacted on his and his partners life.

His partner is the sister of the most powerful family in the area. She has 3 brothers and a sister, her parents are both dead.

One night Robert receives a phone call to go to the local golf course where he finds a murder has been committed. It’s pretty obvious who committed the murder but the perpetrator can’t initially be found. Where has he gone, is someone aiding him? What does this murder have to do with mysterious disappearances and events in the past which are now having to be faced.

Robert sets out to investigate despite the objections of others.

This is a long book full of introspection about people and places in the town where Robert lived. Secrets are forced into the light and crimes solved. It’s an interesting and thoughtful book and I d it. Kathleen Riggs401 15

Fast Paced with Dark Secrets and Lies.

What Lies in the Past by Ben Dunn is the story about a British Murder. Robert Parker is the local police officer in a small sleepy seaside town in Devon. Shirley his wife has a family who seem to have a shady pasted and the townspeople are frightened by the family. When Shelly’s brother is found murdered Robert must now protect his wife who had distanced herself from those family members many years ago. Robert must balance work and family but as he investigates the case Shelly’s family members start to hurt each other. Shelly gets drawn into the games and Robert must now risk everything to save Shelly.
This book is fast paced with dark secrets and lies that Robert must unfold as he manipulates and uses his skills and wit as a police officer to save the women, he loves from a family who do not want any secrets exposed as family members start dying. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sharmani Jayaram894 15

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