The Driftwood Girls

By: Mark Douglas-Home

Narrated by: David Monteath

Brought to you by Penguin.

Twenty-three years ago, Christina Tolmie vanished without trace from northern France, leaving her young daughters Kate and Flora orphaned and alone.

Now Flora is also missing. In desperation, Kate searches her Edinburgh house, and finds a piece of note paper with just one name: Cal McGill.

Cal is a so-called sea detective, an expert on the winds and the tides, and consequently an exceptionally gifted finder of lost things - and lost people.

Kate hopes that Cal might not only find her sister, but also unlock the mystery that has overshadowed both women's lives: what happened to their beloved mother all those years before?

Unfortunately, Cal doesn't think he can help. But that's only because he hasn't yet realised that the dark undercurrents of the case will ultimately lead him back dangerously close to home...

© Mark Douglas-Home 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

Douglas-Home's intelligence, imagination and lucid writing, coupled with David Monteath's addictively accented narration, successfully carries the listener through a somewhat labyrinthine plot, ingeniously weaving in every apparent loose end.

A first-class mystery - perplexing and at times disturbing

A first-class mystery . . . satisfying, intelligent and compelling, perhaps the finest, so far, of the Sea Detective series - a series that is established already as one of the best in contemporary crime fiction

The unusual background and the layered plots make this a series for those who enjoy their puzzles dense and strange

It's a first-class mystery, perplexing and at times disturbing, but also with a couple of comic scenes to lighten the atmosphere

Full of suspense, a gripping 'whodunnit' laced with psychological tension. Douglas-Home is an author who can pull the wool over the reader's eyes until the very end

4

We've such a fine writer here. This book started so slowly that had I not
savored several of his titles I would have possibly quit listening. Then I
found myself thinking of Wodehouse-
the master of comic writing. This author was playing with me,the reader. Then once I'd let go of thoughts of mayhem and murder the plot suddenly grew serious and I was listening to a satisfying mystery. If you enjoy something different by a fine writer- you've arrived. Good stuff

Twisty!

Another good mystery that came together beautifully! I was not expecting the solution. As usual the writing is great, the descriptions of the Scottish coast make you feel as if you are there, and the narrator nails it! The only drawback are the female characterizations. I don’t think a professional police detective with a law degree would be so self conscious or as acutely socially isolated. She would have had to develop some skill and social tolerance to get as far as she has. Also, a professional and modern law enforcement agency would not have such a hostile work environment and certainly not be as overtly ostracizing to any detective - much less a female. Those things briefly took me out of the book, but the story and other writing was good enough that I came back. I really enjoy this series. But please let the woman be full characters in the next books!

A Great Addition to the Series

I really enjoy the sea detective series and this was an absolutely terrific and riveting plot. The narrator of this series is also excellent.

Great series, but

I love this series. The writing is intelligent and the detective’s profession so unique that I find the books irresistible. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next in the series. My only complaint, and the reason for my 4 stars for overall and story, is that we are stuck in a rut with Cal’s, the Sea Detective’s, personal growth and emotional development. He’s certainly explored the roots of his inability to connect with others over the last 4 novels, and several promising relationships just evaporate with no follow up in the next book. Without Cal’s ability to change and move forward, the books are beginning to be too much alike.

Sea Detective #4

The first book in this 4 book series, The Sea Detective, had me hanging on for the next. I’ve now read all 4. I’m a fairly addicted reader and this is my genre. I am used to characters changing names and moving back and forth in time. This book just had too much of this, covering 23 yrs, with too many main characters, most of who all ended up being someone else. All of this made the outcome difficult to get to. Everyone is searching for a different truth and it remains nefarious right to the end. At least one person knows the “real” story. He dies. The reader has some idea but the characters never seem to get to the bottom line. I guess I will have to read #5 because, out of the chaos, there is no finality. At least you can’t go wrong with David Monteath!!