Two O'Clock Boy

At the start of this novel, in 1986, a young boy may or may not be about to commit murder on a boat in the English Channel. His victims? His own parents. Something very bad must have happened to this child to make him even contemplate such a terrible crime.  Either way, it is an event which will lead to old secrets being revealed in the present day.

Thirty years in the past, Longacre Children’s Home burned to the ground. Now a killer who refers to himself as the Two O’Clock Boy is hunting and killing the children who grew up there. DI Ray Drake is one of the team investigating the murders. He is determined to put an end to them but he is also determined to cover up certain secrets that have been buried since the night of the fire.

Drake is mentoring a promising detective, DS Flick Crowley and, just before the first murder is committed, Ray tells her that she will lead in whatever the next investigation may be. Inevitably this leads to conflict between them as Flick begins to question her boss’s behaviour in regard to the investigation.

As the murder enquiry begins to gain momentum, the author periodically takes us into the past as we learn about the young Ray Drake and his connection with the children’s home. The home is run by a loathsome, abusive criminal called Gordon Tallis, helped by a young lady whose name is Sally Raynor. Sally is, in fact, related to Drake who is very fond of his second cousin. Ray does not like Tallis at all and so he regularly keeps tabs on what is happening at the home.        

It’s a really good read, well-plotted and guaranteed to keep you guessing. As the book proceeds, author Hill piles on surprise after surprise. I was sure that I had it all figured out about halfway through the book but not all is as it seems and Hill ties everything up beautifully at the end of the novel. Interesting characters abound as the novel picks up pace and leads to a great ending. I will be curious to see how Hill develops his hero in the next DI Ray Drake thriller.