Book Review: Ask No Questions

A journalist's attempts to dig into a 25-year-old murder reopens fresh resentments in Claire Allan's engrossing mystery Ask No Questions. The case concerns an eight-year-old Kelly Doherty, who went missing while out trick or treating with friends on Halloween night in the Northern Irish town of Creggan. Although her body is discovered three days later and an arrest is made, the anniversary of the incident sends Ingrid Devlin investigating, particularly after Jamesy Harte, the man who was convicted, staunchly maintains his innocence and insists he was framed for a crime he didn't commit. Devlin doggedly revisits the last few hours leading up to Kelly's death, only to be confronted with the distinct possibility that there are forces at play that would want it remain very much a thing of the past. Claire Allan displays a narrative sleight of hand, deftly strewing the investigational field with multiple suspects, each shadowy enough to maintain the reader's suspicions. Written with a strong sense of place, Ask No Questions is at once evocative and thrilling.