This second installment of the series picks up six weeks after the end of the first installment. Robbie is still obsessing over the clues and message that he discovered about his missing wife in the last installment. He’s also put a name “Black Dog” to his depression, that at times manifests into a delusion of a big black dog. He’s also still physically recovering and as the story opens, Robbie hasn’t been released from the department shrink and mandatory psych evaluation to go back to work. That is until Superintendent Clare barges into the session, and in a scene that had me cracking up, Clare makes it very clear to Dr Richard Johnson, Double Dick, that Robbie will be going back to work immediately. Lmao😂 Yeah, I like Clare!!!
The book summary lays out the premise for the primary storyline of the investigation of a murder and the secondary storyline of Robbie’s continuing struggles of taking care of his three daughters without his wife. While I completely understand that being a single parent struggling with keeping reliable childcare is a tremendous problem for many people, Smith does manage to use British humor to lighten the tone of this major issue. As any parent will agree, finding a wonderful babysitter, or as they say in Britain, childminder, is an absolute godsend!!!
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the murder that leads Robbie and the team to a pair of felonious brothers as well as another death. After that, the end comes pretty quick, and it’s quite the shocker! I never saw that coming. At 270pgs, this is a really quick read and while most of the story is a solid 3.5star, I'm feeling compelled to round up because I love stories that make me laugh! I look forward to the next installment where Robbie may finally find out what happened to his wife.