Scarecrow

Fast-paced and compelling, Scarecrow is set partly in the Andalusian province of Almeria and partly in England. Danny Sanchez, a bi-lingual journalist, leaves for Spain when his mentor and boss on a Hampshire local newspaper commits suicide. The story opens when Danny is covering the story of a compulsory house demolition in a British ex-pat community in the Almanzora Valley. What the demolition inadvertently reveals leads Danny on a tortuous path of discovery, via thuggish cowboy builders and a missing teenage boy, around Almeria and back to England, as his quest for the scoop of a lifetime turns into a personal crusade against a depraved serial murderer. Nineteen years a reporter, Danny is hard-bitten but human. The author carefully builds his personality and history, creating a very real and interesting character, skilled in his job and with an instinctive flair for managing people and ferreting out the information that he needs. The narrative moves with a Chandleresque efficiency; the dialogue is stark and often harsh, but most effective in conveying the personalities of the speakers. There are many twists to the plot, but all are credible. Matthew Pritchard keeps his readers guessing until the end.