"False Tongues" by Kate Charles / Reviewed by Briana Goodchild
Killer Nashville Book of the Day
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Kate Charles
False Tongues by Kate Charles
Reviewed by Briana Goodchild
Callie Anson is a believer in the “big three” of religion: faith, hope, and charity. She also happens to be a reverend with a past that has recently come back to haunt her in the form of her ignorant ex, Adam Masters. But Callie is not the only one with demons in this novel of love, betrayal, and lies.
This fourth installment of the “Callie Anson Mysteries” will exceed all of the readers’ expectations. If you thought the previous adventures were good, wait until you read “False Tongues”!
We begin meeting Callie and her friends Deacon Val Carver, Priest Nicky Lamb, and Priest Tamsin Howells. From there, readers will experience the story through multiple points of view – nine in fact – that are intricately woven; each piece revealing an important clue as to who murdered Sebastian Frost.
Stabbed, tongue split, and left in the middle of Paddington Green, Frost’s death is a reflection of an exhausting war: living with religious pressures and being gay. Parallel to this struggle is the love triangle of Callie Anson, her ex Adam Masters, and her Italian fiancé Mark “Marco” Lambardi. Marco is the partner of Irish Detective Inspector Neville Stewart, both of whom work on the Frost case. In between are the stories of Miranda Frost (Sebastian’s mother), Lilith Noone (reporter from the Daily Globe), and Margaret Phillips (Principal of Archbishop Temple House).
At first glance, none of the stories appear to be connected in any way, they all seem like separate entities that have been placed together for no apparent reason. But then, as the plot thickens and readers fall deeper into the trappings of the characters’ complex lives, we begin to realize that the novel has been set up from the beginning to slowly reveal the connections that each character has to each other; and although some never meet, they nevertheless are linked via another character.
Such a technique can be seen with Josh Bradley, for even though he and Callie do not meet he is arrested by Stewart and Lambardi, the latter being the lover of Callie, and therefore the two become connected. Josh, a gay teenager and classmate of Sebastian Frost, falls victim to a cyber bully gang on Facebook – a gang which Sebastian was part of. He inevitably becomes tied up in the murder, but was he the one who executed the tragic deed?
Intense, secretive, and chock full of modern day complications, “False Tongues” is a well-thought-out novel. Written by the past Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Barbara Pym society, this novel in no way falls short of the readers’ expectations. Regardless of being a fourth installment, anyone can pick up this story and follow along – you won’t be able to put it down!
Briana Goodchild is on the verge of becoming a bibliophile. Like any book reader she enjoys a strong cup of tea and an enticing story to match. Occasionally, when diving into the page-turning mystery genre, more caffeine is required.
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