Review

The Craftsmen is a novel that is set in two timelines as we follow the career of Florence Lovelady who is the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police when she returns to the village of Sabden, Lancashire, for the funeral of serial killer Larry Glassbrook with whom Florence had kept in touch over the years since his arrest. Back in 1969, three teenagers who went missing in the area and Florence was instrumental in discovering they had been buried alive in caskets beside a deceased person and the funerals had all been conducted by Glassbrook’s funeral business. As a young police officer, Florence was instrumental in arresting Larry after almost becoming a victim herself.

Back in 1969, Florence was also boarding with the Glassbrook family and against her better judgement, she goes back to visit the house and is stunned to find a clay effigy of herself in the unused beehives. The effigy has been recently made and Florence is baffled at the discovery which brings back memories of her time in Sabden. The story flashes back to 1969 when Florence was the only female police officer at the station where she was mistrusted by her fellow officers for not only being a female but also a Southerner. I loved how the 1960s was portrayed in the novel and the chauvinistic attitude of the men at the station and in the village was appalling but totally credible for the time. However, Florence is not a shrinking violet and she forces her superiors to listen to her even if it backfires on her.

There are hints that there are greater forces at work in Sabden though, and Florence soon hears tales of powerful men at the heart of the village who control everything and you cross them at your peril. The men are initially said to be freemasons but it soon becomes apparent that they is something far more sinister. Bolton introduced a supernatural thread in many of her previous books but it is far more blatant in The Craftsman due to its setting near Pendle Hill which is synonymous with the witch trials. The trial of the Pendle witches in the 17th century was one of the most famous witch trials in English history and Bolton operates on the assumption that the accused really were witches and there is still a coven in the village. The real question is whether the coven is a force for good or evil.

Thirty years later, Florence has embraced witchcraft herself and is convinced there are still dark forces at work in Sabden but no one is talking. Then astounding new evidence comes to light that may clear Larry and Florence is soon caught up in another web of lies that threatens the one person she loves most in the world: her son. The Craftsman is a chilling tale set in an atmospheric setting that has twist around every corner which makes for an unsettling but satisfying read.