The Hunted Hare by Fay Sampson - Reviewed!

ABOUT THE BOOK:  (from Monarch Books)
Pennant Melangell lies at the head of a mountain valley in North Wales. It consists of a church, with the medieval shrine and pilgrimage site of St Melangell, a few cottages - and a newly constructed hotel, The House of the Hare, built by its imposing director Thaddeus Brown. To the House of the Hare come Aidan and Jenny Davison, with their seven-year-old daughter Melangell. Jenny is dying of cancer, but is determined to live life to the full while she can. She looks forward to using the hotel's archery range. Thaddeus Brown's new centre has provoked fierce opposition. When Brown is found dead, an arrow in his eye, suspicion falls first upon Lorna, his vulnerable young niece, and then upon an eccentric and passionate local man. Then young Melangell goes missing - The first of a series of new mysteries featuring Aidan and Melangell and set in what Fay Sampson describes as the 'thin' places of the Celtic world.

My Thoughts:

I am always THRILLED to find a new mystery author to savor, and Fay Sampson is one such author.  Her Aiden Mystery series begins with The Hunted Hare, and I will eagerly anticipate the next book in the series!  I love the setting (North Wales), I love the people, and I love the fact that the villain is hidden right until the last pages! That is a GOOD mystery!

I also love the fact that the Davison family is walking a path that no one ever wants to walk, and that they have come to a place dear to their hearts to make life long memories with their daughter.  Even though their trip is turned on its ear several times, and they face personal trials as the mystery escalates, the reader is given a delightful town and its people to enjoy along the way.  The Davison family are well-developed and the reader comes to care for them a great deal in the course of the story.

The ultimate question: will healing be found at the end of the journey?  Will the family survive their trip in tact? I highly encourage readers who are looking for a fresh mystery series to choose Fay Sampson’s Aidan Mysteries!  I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit to North Wales and the House of Hare! 

About the Author:

Fay Sampson was born in Plymouth, UK, in 1935, the daughter of a Royal Marine bandsman. She grew up in Lympstone, a farming and fishing village on the Exe. She graduated in mathematics at the University College of the South-West, now Exeter University. She taught in high schools in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and married Jack Priestley. They went to a teacher training college in Northern Rhodesia/Zambia, where their two children were born. After their return to Exeter, Fay began writing, as well as teaching part-time.

In 1987 she left teaching to write full-time and began to write novels for adults as well, often based on myths and legends. She has also published four books on church history, using the research for her novels.

She lives with her husband in a Tudor cottage in mid-Devon. Her hobbies are family history, walking, and activities at her Methodist church.

Learn more about Fay at her website!