Fiction Review: The Falcon and The Owl

I don't read a lot of series, but the Ann Kinnear Suspense series by Matty Dalrymple is an exception! These are mystery/suspense/thriller novels but with a twist: the main character can sense spirits and communicate with the dead. I love this premise and her first two novels, The Sense of Death and The Sense of Reckoning just blew me away! I enjoyed them so much that I decided to read the rest of the series, a rare thing for me. I read The Falcon and the Owl, book three, last month for the R.I.P. Challenge and loved this twisty, ghosty thriller.

Ann is living in southeastern Pennsylvania with her brother and business manager, Mike, and his partner, Scott. She's recovering from her recent adventures in Maine, taking on some small clients and simple cases, and taking flying lessons at a small local airport in Avondale (fun fact--just a few miles from my house!). As the novel opens, something far more sinister is happening in the little airport one night. A drunken man named Hal barges into the hangar office and accuses the airport's chief mechanic, Byran, of sleeping with his wife. Hal picks up a heavy piece of equipment and comes after Bryan, and after a scuffle, Hal is lying on the ground dead. Moments later, Hal's wife, Gwen (who has been sleeping with Bryan), arrives, and the two of them quickly decide to cover up Hal's death. Bryan was planning to leave in the morning for his remote cabin in the northern Pennsylvania forests for a fishing weekend. The two of them heave Hal into the plane, buckle him in, and Byran takes off. Their plan is for Bryan to bury Hal deep in the woods so it appears he's gone missing. There's a lot at stake because Gwen is famous in the small-plane world and has sponsors; she flies in air shows and races. Their plan somehow goes awry, and both men die in a fiery, unexplained crash up in the mountains. A few days later, Hal's business partner, Arno, hires Ann. Hal signed an important contract before he died, and Arno can't find it anywhere. He wants Ann to talk to Hal and find out where the contract is, so Ann begins her work, searching for Hal at the crash site in the northern woods, as well as around the local area.

There's a lot going on here, but within a few chapters, I was immersed in the characters and the situation. As with Dalrymple's first two novels in the series, she has created a clever, unpredictable mystery here. As Ann digs deeper and finds Bryan and Hal's spirits, she begins to realize there is more to this situation than just recovering a lost contract. This novel is packed full of secrets and lies, and Ann (and the reader) doesn't always know who to believe. The suspense--and the danger--builds to an action-packed, stunning conclusion. I really like the Ann character (as well as her brother and his partner) and the idea that she can communicate with spirits. This series is well-written, with a sense of humor in among the darkness, and there is a strong sense of place in each novel, which adds to the experience. I just picked up book four, A Furnace for Your Foe, from my local bookstore, and I can't wait to dive into it!

330 pages, William Kingsfield Publishers

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Pennsylvania

R.I.P. Challenge

 

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Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, which shows the excellent storytelling and light sense of humor, and/or download it from Audible. 

 

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Or you can order The Falcon and the Owl from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.