Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell by Gillian French
Solid Read
The last couple of days have been a blur of books and page flips, and yeah, I’ve been on a bit of a three-star streak lately. But hey—three stars isn’t a bad thing in my book. Not everything has to blow the doors off to be worth reading.
Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell by Gillian French sits firmly in that three-star zone for me: solid, engaging, but not a knockout. It’s got strong bones, a good premise, and some great atmosphere—but I just wanted a little more punch.
Shaw Connolly is a fingerprint analyst in a quiet Maine town, pulled into a string of arsons while still haunted by the disappearance of her sister Thea sixteen years ago. The loss has carved a hole in her life, and her relentless pursuit of answers is starting to take a toll on her relationships. Then she gets a call—from a man named Anders Jansen, who claims he knows what happened to Thea. He confesses, taunts, stalks, but never quite gives her the truth. Shaw has to decide just how far she’s willing to go to drag that truth into the light.
It’s a slow burn, no doubt. The mystery is solid, the setting—icy, rural Maine in winter—is moody and immersive, and Shaw has potential as a character. But the dialogue didn’t always land for me, and the pacing dragged in places. I never fully clicked in—but I didn’t regret the read either. And I have to say, the ending worked. It stuck the landing.
Would I read more from Gillian French? Definitely. Honestly, if this turned into a series, I think these characters have enough depth to grow into something bigger. The forensic angle alone has serious potential.
So yes, another three stars. But not in a “meh” way—in a “this had something, and I’m glad I gave it a shot” way.
