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WORK TITLE: The Devil’s Claw
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.laradearman.com/
CITY: Westchester
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
Born and Raised on on the Channel Island of Guernsey; nationality is considered Channel Islander; they are not British nor French.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Guernsey; children: three.
EDUCATION:Studied at University of Sussex, Richmond Adult Community College, and St Mary’s University, London.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Has worked in finance.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Lara Dearman is a writer. Born and raised on Guernsey, she studied international relations and French at the University of Sussex. Dearman worked in finance for a while before leaving her job to raise her three children. After taking a creative writing course at Richmond Adult Community College, she pursued a master’s degree in creative writing at St Mary’s University, London, graduating with distinction in 2016. Dearman has lived in the Channel Islands, Britain, France, Singapore, and in New York.
Dearman published The Devil’s Claw in 2017. News reporter Jennifer Dorey digs into the dark past of a series of murders in Guernsey after the discovery of a corpse on a local beach. Although eighteen-year-old Amanda Guile seems to have drown accidentally, Dorey finds a pattern of woman with fair hair and blue eyes who also drown on the beach in 1966, 1974, 1985, 1994, and 2002. Detective Chief Inspector Michael Gilbert agrees that Dorey’s findings suggest that a serial killer may be responsible. Gilbert’s interviews with the victims’ surviving relatives give his investigation some momentum, while Dorey become increasingly paranoid over her findings.
A contributor to Publishers Weekly claimed that “well-developed characters ensure that readers will want to see more of Jennifer and company.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that “Dearman’s debut is overwrought in its addiction to italicized flashbacks, highly competent in its use of serial-killer conventions, and appealingly heartfelt in its heroine’s entirely believable dedication.” Writing in Xpress Reviews, Lisa O’Hara opined that “there is a lot going on,” pointing out that “the plot wanders” perhaps because of this. However, O’Hara conceded that “the end is satisfying.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2017, review of The Devil’s Claw.
Publishers Weekly, November 13, 2017, review of The Devil’s Claw, p. 42.
Xpress Reviews, January 1, 2018, Lisa O’Hara, review of The Devil’s Claw.
ONLINE
Lara Dearman Website, https://www.laradearman.com (March 18, 2018).
About Lara
Lara was born and raised on the beautiful Channel Island of Guernsey. She moved to the UK to study International Relations and French at the University of Sussex, after which she endured a brief career in finance before giving it up to be a stay at home mum to her three children. A short course in Creative Writing at Richmond Adult Community College led to Lara studying for a Masters in Creative Writing at St Mary’s University, London. She graduated in 2016 with a distinction. Having moved from Guernsey to Brighton to London to Paris to Singapore and back to London over the last fifteen years, she has now settled in Westchester, New York, with her family. The Devil's Claw is her first novel and combines her love of Guernsey, myths and folklore with her obsession with crime fiction and serial killers...
The Devil's Claw: A Jennifer Dorey
Mystery
Publishers Weekly.
264.46 (Nov. 13, 2017): p42.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Devil's Claw: A Jennifer Dorey Mystery
Lara Dearman. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-68331-456-1
The discovery of a young woman's body on a Guernsey beach puts news reporter Jennifer Dorey, the
heroine of Dearman's dark debut and series launch, on a tortuous trail into the island's murky past. Eighteenyear-old
Amanda Guile appears to have drowned by accident, but a prologue reveals that she was murdered.
Over the next few days, Jennifer learns that five other young women died of drowning in 1966, 1974, 1985,
1994, and 2002; like Amanda, they all had fair hair and blue eyes. Jennifer shares her findings with Det.
Chief Insp. Michael Gilbert, who agrees a serial killer is at work and begins to interview the victims'
surviving relatives. The suspense rises as the narrative shifts between the points of view of frustrated,
increasingly anxious Jennifer and steady, plodding Michael. Glimpses into the mind of the unknown killer
heighten the tension. A native of Guernsey, Dearman makes good use of the British dependency's unusual
topography and history. Well-developed characters ensure that readers will want to see more of Jennifer and
company. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Devil's Claw: A Jennifer Dorey Mystery." Publishers Weekly, 13 Nov. 2017, p. 42. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A515325994/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5dfa3e32.
Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A515325994
3/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1520202126296 2/3
Dearman, Lara: THE DEVIL'S CLAW
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Dearman, Lara THE DEVIL'S CLAW Crooked Lane (Adult Fiction) $26.99 1, 9 ISBN: 978-1-68331-456-1
A Guernsey-bred reporter who's retreated from the criminal cobwebs of London to her birthplace finds the
Channel Islands just as deep in malfeasance and a lot deeper in denial. Everyone in the parish of Vale is
sorry that health care student Amanda Guille is dead at 18, and everyone is certain that her drowning was
accidental. Only Jennifer Dorey suspects otherwise, and that's only because of a fluke: Margaret Dorey, the
mother whose recent widowing has combined with Jenny's handling of an expos? that turned too hot to
handle to bring her back to Vale, happens in conversation to recall the similar case of her friend Elizabeth
Mahy, who drowned in a bathing pool way back in 1966. A little digging discloses a history of four other
young women who've drowned in the 50 years since--and if that doesn't sound like very many, well, "it's a
very small island." Jenny works on the story assiduously, carefully sourcing every new development and
resolutely avoiding sensationalizing the events. But when she discovers an incontrovertible link among the
six victims, Brian Ozanne, her editor at the Guernsey News, runs headlong from the story for reasons that
can't be good. Luckily, Jenny has already found a more receptive colleague in a surprising place: the local
police station, where DCI Michael Gilbert, who'd openly invited her participation from the beginning, takes
her a great deal more seriously. It's a heroic stand considering that the revelation of half a century of
unpunished murders will be laid on his department and perhaps put paid to his career. In the end, though,
the top prize for valor goes to Jenny, who refuses to walk away from the case and confronts the killer in a
last-ditch effort to save yet another victim. Dearman's debut is overwrought in its addiction to italicized
flashbacks, highly competent in its use of serial-killer conventions, and appealingly heartfelt in its heroine's
entirely believable dedication.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Dearman, Lara: THE DEVIL'S CLAW." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512028699/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=16169dd0.
Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A512028699
3/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1520202126296 3/3
Dearman, Lara. The Devil's Claw: A
Jennifer Dorey Mystery
Lisa O'Hara
Xpress Reviews.
(Jan. 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Dearman, Lara. The Devil's Claw: A Jennifer Dorey Mystery. Crooked Lane. Jan. 2018. 336p. ISBN
9781683314561. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781683314578. MYS
[DEBUT] Journalist Jenny Dorey is back living on the island of Guernsey, working at the local paper after
losing her father. When she is one of the first on the scene after the body of a young woman is found on a
local beach, she is assigned to cover the case. Although the cause of death is assumed to be suicide, Jenny's
research uncovers a series of similar deaths stretching back decades and convinces DCI Michael Gilbert that
this clue is worth investigating. Together, they begin to see ties linking Guernsey's dark mythology to a
possible serial killer.
Verdict There is a lot going on in this debut novel, and the plot wanders as a result, but the end is satisfying
and there is definitely series potential. Readers who favor atmospheric British mysteries such as Peter May's
The Black House will enjoy this effort.--Lisa O'Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnipeg
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
O'Hara, Lisa. "Dearman, Lara. The Devil's Claw: A Jennifer Dorey Mystery." Xpress Reviews, Jan.
2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525404001/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=78600419. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525404001