A trio of child murders in a Lancashire town more normally renowned for its witches. A newly minted WPC with all the brains and many of the answers and at least some witchery. We cross to the same town 30 years later and the funeral of the incarcerated murderer. But a funny thing happens on the afternoon of the burial. How well was the initial investigation undertaken, should there be questions about it and what more is in store.

The introduction to this novel tells how much the author wanted to write about witches and the whole thing has a feel of a contrived narrative. The witches play little part for the early parts of the book and then become all- encompassing at a later point. Our upper crust WPC is completely absorbed in them and their history.

I struggled woman fully through this book, I was not drawn into the book which felt more like a collection of parts. Part mystery / thriller and to some extent macabre horror with the occult and a bit of historical fiction thrown in. I feel that the author would have been better writing one thing or the other. I disliked the ending - oh so wrong - the highest ranked Woman in police history and the pricking of my thumbs along with Banquo's ghost.

What can I say- brilliant storyline/plot, believable characters and plenty of twists. Excellent and thoroughly recommended.

*The Craftsman - Sharon Bolton*
Set in Lancashire in the 1960s, The Craftsman, follows a young WPC Florence Lovelady as she begins her policing career in a time where women didn't have the same opportunities as men or garnered the same respect. She is soon thrust into a high profile investigation when children begin to disappear under very suspicious circumstances. One of these children is found dead after being buried alive in a casket at the local grave yard. Suspicion and superstition soon fills the minds of all those involved in the community and the investigation. ⚰️😱
This book was a total treat. It started off as one thing and ended up somewhere totally unexpected. There is witchcraft, history, secrets, lies. You name it, it had it. I loved the main character, Florence or 'Flossie' as she is known. She is a strong, independent woman who sticks to her guns at all times and isn't beaten down by the men in her life. There are so many twists in this book that it had my head spinning. I never once guessed the ending correctly. This one took me by total surprise. 🤫🤓

Sharon Bolton always impresses me with her clever, spooky plots and I knew as this book is set in Pendle that this would be no exception.
Florence Lovelady is back for the funeral of the man she put behind bars 30 years' ago, the arrest that made her career in the police. She is bright, educated and has an opinion. Something which most of the police in her small Lancashire town do not appreciate. All is not finished though.
Told in to time periods with great historical detail about the constant pressures on women in the police in the last part of the 20th Century.
So many themes which are not ignored and some fantastic characters - heroes and villains! Please read this book. And please write more!

The following is my review as posted on Goodreads.

Oh heck.... this is as creepy as anything. Yep, it really is. Why? Because this is Ms Bolton at her most horrifying, spine tingling best. I've just had a spell of reading some of Ms Bolton's back catalogue and The Craftsman is up there as one to be beaten.

It starts off as set out in the blurb with Assistant Commissioner Florence Lovelady attending the funeral of convicted murderer Larry Glassbrook. A craftsman of caskets who buried his victims alive with effigies. Like I said ....... proper creepy and chilling.

We then go back to 1969 when WPC Lovelady is new on the job and attending a case of a voice being heard from a casket. A voice that could potentially be a child victim who had been reported missing just a couple of days earlier. Cut to August 1999 again and chillingly another effigy is discovered by Lovelady that looks uncannily like herself sparking real fear for her life.

The book is full of urban legends and myths that Ms Bolton is brilliant at. Always well researched and beautifully set I found myself totally caught up in this spinechiller with tension never really leaving my body until the very end ..... and I'm not convinced it did then!!

Prepare to be unnerved as you enter the world of The Craftsman ........ and stay away from caskets!!

Highly, highly recommend.

It’s been a while since I read one of Sharon Bolton’s books, so I was looking forward to reading her latest book – The Craftsman. I must admit that I was a bit dismayed when I realised that most of it is written in the present tense, but as soon as I began reading I was immediately drawn into the story, forgot about the tense, and just had to read on.

This is one of her standalone books and I have found each one really scary, creepy books and The Craftsman is no exception. In 1969 WPC Florence, ‘Flossie’, Lovelady began to work in Sabden, a small town in Lancashire under the shadow of Pendle Hill, notorious for witch trials back in the 17th century. But the book begins in 1999 when Florence, now an Assistant Commissioner returns to Sabden for the funeral of Larry Glassbrook who died after thirty years in prison, convicted for the murders of three teenagers buried alive in 1969. Taking her fifteen year old son Ben with her, she goes to Larry’s house where she had lodged and discovers a clay effigy similar to the ones found buried with the three teenagers. She revisits the scenes of the burials, meets some of her old colleagues and starts to think that maybe Larry wasn’t the murderer after all.

And so the nightmare begins, going back to 1969 as Flossie, a clever young woman, found it hard to be taken seriously at first by her colleagues in the police. And she was aware of how different she seemed to the local people in a place still steeped in superstition and belief in the supernatural. Her investigations, looking for connections between the victims, ad exploring the local history of witches and their covens raised an atmosphere of suspicion and near hysteria in the community.

Sharon Bolton’s writing is so descriptive, both of the beautiful landscape and the main characters, that I was inescapably drawn into this chilling and terrifying story with the horrors of being buried alive clearly described. She has produced a remarkably powerful book, full of tension and fear, but also focusing on the culture and attitudes of society at the end of the 1960s. I thought the pace of the book dragged a bit in the middle section only to be ramped up to the utmost as it drew to it conclusion, which I have to say I hadn’t expected and am not sure I can believe. It is a compelling and absorbing book that left me thinking about it days after I finished reading.

Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group for a review copy via NetGalley.

This is the first book i have read by Sharon Bolton in a number of years, i was really impressed with this book. The story started off slow, but gradually drew you into to the story and the characters.
I would highly recommended this book 5 stars

The story begins with the funeral of the Murderer Larry Glassbrook. There to witness this funeral is Florence Lovelady the person responsible for solving the case Larry confessed to, that of the kidnapping of 3 children. Her memories are awakened and we are taken back 30 years to the time when the children disappear in the late 1960s. A time when the police force was dominated by men and Florence has to hold her own, which does very forcefully, however as we come back to the present there are still lots of questions about the case that start to call into question Larry’s confession. Was he really the culprit? This story is well written with attitudes and characters befitting the prevalent attitudes of the day. With touches of magic and witchcraft thrown in, even though the crimes were set in the 1960s, it is a modern day mystery to solve. If you like thrillers and feeling chills down your spine, you will love this. Chilling, really chilling.

A superbly plotted, atmospheric and evocative book that shows Sharon Bolton to be an author at the top of her game. Blending urban myth, witchcraft, small town mentality and a resilient female main character, this book is certainly one of the best I have read this year.

Flitting between the 70's and 1999, we are introduced to Florence Loveday. Through her eyes we see the misogynistic nature of the police force in the 60's and her determination to prove that she is equally capable as her male counterparts, if not better. Her hard work, perseverance and a little bit of luck lead her to the breakthrough that the case needs, but it is at a tremendous personal cost. However, events in 1999 suggest that she may not have helped to convict the real killer, and furthermore, not only is the murderer still at large, but coming for her and her family.

The small town mentality that is so keenly observed really increases the sense of unease that this book creates. Add in a truly horrific way of murdering the victims and an incredibly well researched witchcraft element and this makes for a story that burrows under your skin and needles at you to read 'just one more page'.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that you read this book and my thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Oh my what to say about this book. Such a creepy & gripping read. I flew through the pages. A huge 5 Star’s from me

Brilliant! Great setting, Cleverly weaves local folklore into a tale of a young female PC who in 1969 showed her male colleagues that she was good for more than tea-making! Loved the way the story follows Florence Lovelady as she revisits the town of Sabden, Lancashire thirty years after a series of teens disappearances. One man confessed and was convicted, but following his death, Florence finds more evidence that leads her to believe the man may have been protecting the real killer. This is clever, full of twists and turns and enough grisly details to keep the reader up all night reading!

I've only read one other novel by Sharon Bolton (Little Black Lies, which I really enjoyed - read my review here) and that was a while ago, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I soon found myself completely drawn into this atmospheric, well-written mystery/crime/thriller novel.

One of the things that set this apart again other novels for me was the fact that the majority of the storyline is set in the late 1960's, and so you see the way women police officers were treated at that time and the hurdles they had to overcome to be taken seriously in the force. It's such an interesting topic to read about, and I also enjoyed seeing police investigation techniques from back then as opposed to those used in modern-day investigations, which crime novels tend to focus on. It seems crazy to think of a female police officer being treated in this way nowadays - and I don't mean she was necessarily treated in the worst way ever, but just dismissed and not taken seriously purely because of her gender. Florence is such a great, strong-minded character and I loved reading about her - in fact, I wanted there to be a series so I could read more about her!

The story itself is gripping, and occasionally switches between the time of the initial investigation, and the 'present day' narrative (which is actually 1999). There is a touch of the mystical / magical about it, which I'm not usually a fan of in this genre, but Sharon Bolton pulls it all together so well that it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book at all.

There are creepy moments and things that make you think twice, and file them away for later (which I loved!). I hugely enjoyed this novel and would recommend to anyone looking for a smart, wonderfully "crafted" (sorry!) crime novel.

Bolton has taken the witches of Pendleton as inspiration for her latest criminal installment. Somewhat different to previous books, it has cleverly woven folk law and the beautiful countryside of the Lancashire area to create a unique and captivating whodunnit that straddles two timeframes and incorporates a twist of the supernatural.



Starting in August 1999 Larry Glassbook is returned home to Lancashire for his own funeral. The Press are present for the merciless killer and funeral director. He is known and despised for his actions where he buried children alive. Commissioner Lovelady has a missing finger on her left hand that hurts on sight of 3 teenagers, where her left finger was removed. She has returned to the area after 30 years to put the sordid experience to rest and has with her, her 15-year-old son.



The story dwells mainly in 1969 when 'Flossie' Lovelady was a young, educated and forthright officer in a male dominated world. Her educated ways bought her no friends, and her male colleagues tried to put her down - but she just couldn't help herself and kicks back regardless. Indeed, she depicts the time and sentiments really well. You want her to outsmart the misogynistic men, even though some of the links are a bit tenuous and she is so junior, really, she is out of her depth. You also learn how she lost her finger and why this was a career defining case.



There is some unfinished business to attend to as more facts come to light when Lovelady returns to Pendle, which brings the story and final version of events to a dramatic close.



Not sure if all fans will appreciate this different approach from Bolton, but I found it a pacey, creepy and engaging read. It aligned to a period in time when there were some notorious Northern killers, such as the Moors Murderers and the Yorkshire Ripper. I like things that are a tad different and much was blended into the story, with good twists and turns as well as some good old-fashioned police investigating. Whether her change to a different publisher will allow us to see a different side to Bolton's writing in this new trilogy, we will need to see, but all told I really enjoyed this.

I have always enjoyed Sharon Bolton books and this was no exception. It is gripping, intriguing and packs the usual punches. I usually wouldn't go for a crime novel with such a twist, but I'm glad that I did. I was continually trying to guess (as any crime reader does!) who the killer was, however I couldn't settle on a single person, having blamed practically everyone towards the end! This book will make you want to keep the light on.

Thank you Orion Publishing Group.

Missing children are discovered in buried caskets leading to a police investigation and a conviction. But 30 years later the question is raised - did they get the right man? The story follows a WPC relocated from the South to a Northern village dealing with the original investigation in the late 1960s, WPC Lovelady is drawn into witchcraft and old wives tales but the experience comes back to haunt her when she returns 30 years later for the funeral of the murderer only for her son to go missing. Tightly plotted and neatly packed to carry the action forward and hold the suspense through to the conclusion - a pleasing read.

Different to say the least! So much so I had to keep reading until I knew what happened and why. Certainly kept me gripped until the very last page.

Sharon Bolton's The Craftsman is one properly dark and sinister novel. Excellent marks for atmosphere as the action that unfolds in Lancashire, in 1969 and 1999, feels heavy with creepy intent and headed down a path few would tread.

In 1969, Florence (Flossie or WPC Lovelady) is just starting her police career when she becomes involved in the investigation of three missing Sabden teens. The first is found interred in a casket with a (dead) man recently buried. If that isn't enough to make your skin crawl, she was alive when buried... but that's only the start. We shadow Flossie during the investigation to see what transpires in an effort to find the missing kids and how Larry Glassbrook became involved. There's plenty of sexist treatment towards Flossie, which accurately reflects the time, but I suspect feminists might take issue with this. I, personally, found her to be an annoying know-it-all and felt just as against her as the blokes. The 1999 version of Flossie was much easier to stomach. I liked her a lot more as a mature adult, with her son Ben, not as a snotty 20-something.

If you want a book to give you the collywobbles, as befits the dark and unforgiving North of England, this is the book to read. Though Lancashire is a beautiful bit of the country there is a hard, harsh coldness beneath the lovely exterior that seeps into your bones unsettling you. This book expresses that perfectly and even goes a step further than I anticipated by adding a surprising dimension to the yarn. I wasn't too keen on it, initially, but the development was a welcome one by the end. Enjoy!

Sharon Bolton just gets better and better! I raced through this creepy novel, dark and disturbing, it had my holding my breath!

Another masterpiece from Sharon Bolton - well-paced with unique and believable characters. The tension builds and there are twists and turns that just when you think the truth is being reveled, you realise you read the situation wrong. And yet, unlike many 'thrillers' - there aren't an unbelievable number of coincidences and red herrings just for the sake of it!

I absolutely loved this book!
The storyline is unique and focuses on Florence a high ranking police officer that is well known for her first case. It’s not just your typical whodunnit as the person responsible has been in prison for 30 years and it’s at his funeral that we at to find out the story of what happened all those years ago.

It’s brilliantly written and fast paced... I could t wait to get to the end... the build up was fantastic and the ending had me surprised despite there being some very subtle clues along the way that I hadn’t realised were clues until the end!!

I’d love to read some more from this author, the way she builds the characters and you get to find out about them really helps to develop a connection within the book.