Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley

I'm always excited to read debut novels. Particularly crime ones. And particularly ones set in Scotland. And as the author has the same name as me (my Sunday version, anyway) and is also an English woman who now calls Scotland her home, like me, how could I resist? Welcome to my blog tour stop for Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley. Many thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed…

Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire.

Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back… When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows.

As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe, including Martha…

Crow Moon is published by Orenda Books and came out on 14th March 2024. 

My Review

Well, what a debut! Sinister and creepy throughout, The tension is ratcheted right up! Crime and witchery all in one place. 

Martha and her teenage son Dougie live in the village of Strathbran with ex partner Jamie close by. The family have been rocked by tragedy following a house fire a couple of years earlier that injured Jamie and killed their two young boys. Martha is just about keeping it together, and staying strong for Dougie. When the body of a close friend of Dougie's is found in local woods with a strange poem inked on his back, Martha's journalistic instincts begin to twitch but, also, she wants to make sure her son is protected and safe. She begins to conduct her own investigation, eventually teaming up with DI Derek Summers. But the discovery of Fraser's body is just the beginning of a spell of fear and darkness for Martha, Dougie and the people of Strathbran...

Oh, my heart ached for Martha! She carried so much grief, sadness and guilt, it's almost too much to bear. For this reader at least. And, oh goodness, the matchbox! (That last comment will make sense when you read the book, I promise.) So, despite the gruesome nature of her  investigation, I was glad she had something to sink her teeth into, to take maybe her mind off things a little bit. I felt for Dougie too. On the cusp of adulthood, he's already dealing with the loss of his brothers, then his best friend goes missing and ends up dead - it's a lot to deal with. He has his own grief and guilt to deal with. 

I loved the injection of folklore, local legends and witchcraft into the story. The crows, not so much! Whilst most of the story is told from Martha's point of view, we also hear from the perpetrator, and an unknown woman, whose identity becomes clear towards the end of the book. I did work out some of what was going on but not all of it, nor why it was all happening. It's certainly a dark story, and with much of it taking place in the woods near Strathbran, which at night feel dark and threatening, it's quite claustrophobic. The scene setting is great. And the tension never lets up from when Fraser goes missing to the frantic denouement. 

Crow Moon is a dark, tense story of love, grief, guilt, legend,  witchcraft and madness. A relatable protagonist, brilliant setting, genuine threat and a high level of tension. A very assured debut that I very much enjoyed. I'll probably look at crows differently now though! 

The Author

Originally from the north-east of England, former journalist Suzy Aspley has lived in Scotland for almost thirty years. She writes crime and short stories, often inspired by the
strange things she sees in the landscape around her. She won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect in 2019 with the original idea for her debut novel and was shortlisted for the Capital Crime New Voices Award. In 2020, she was mentored by Jo Dickinson as part of the Hachette future bookshelf initiative. Crow Moon was also longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award. She’s currently working on the second book in the series, and when she’s not writing, she’s either got her nose buried in a book, or is outside with her dogs , dreaming up more dark stories. She lives in Stirlingshire with her family.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour!