A readable and striking serving of crime fiction, where the investigation into a death uncovers a family overflowing with bitter secrets, lies and grudges. This is the third novel in the ‘Ellen Kelly’ series, however as the story is as much about the suspects as it is the investigating team, you could read this as a standalone, though there is enough information to leave you wanting to hunt down the first two in the series. Having intimate access to everyone's lives added new layers of thoughts and suspicions in my mind. None of the suspects are particularly likeable and we are also shown the raw and honest side of the police officers. Unfortunately, there are several inconsistencies with names and ranks in the edition that I read* but if you spot them, just pop them to one side and allow the story to take over. Sheila Bugler allows, even encourages you to mistrust characters and she sent my thoughts scuttling one way and then another. All Things Nice is a dramatic family tale wrapped in a gritty police murder investigation, stop here if you like to solve the crime alongside the detectives.
* The publisher has been alerted and these copyediting inconsistencies will be corrected for future editions.
All Things Nice Never Forget. Never Forgive Synopsis
For DI Ellen Kelly, this is her first big investigation in eight months - since she let a serial killer get away. There's an awful lot riding on a good result, which means keeping up the pressure on Charlotte Gleeson and her messed-up family. As Ellen investigates, it becomes clear the Gleesons are harbouring some dangerous secrets. The more she digs, the more she uncovers ...and the closer she comes to a deadly confrontation.
Sheila Bugler grew up in the west of Ireland. After studying Psychology at University College Galway, she left Ireland and worked in Italy, Spain, Germany, Holland and Argentina before finally settling in London, where she lives with her husband Sean, and their children, Luke and Ruby. In 2008, she was one of four writers to be offered a place on the Arts Council-funded Apprenticeships in Fiction programme - a mentoring scheme designed to nurture emerging writers in the UK and Ireland. When not writing, Sheila works as an online editor and writer and is also a regular contributor to the writing magazine Words With Jam.
