Bonecreake: The Strange Tale of Maudy Jiller

Book excerpt: December 1878. North Sea gales batter the wash estuary of England’s east coast, covering the desolate marshes and riverbanks under a near impenetrable blanket of snow and ice. Isolated and alone, the impoverished fishing community of Bonecreake faces hardship like never before. But when the warmth of spring thaws the freezing conditions of a prolonged winter, a terrible secret is revealed: four children of Bonecreake are missing. Investigating their disappearance falls on the youthful shoulders of Constable Hollins. With both the inhabitants of Bonecreake and his superiors demanding answers, is the inexperienced Constable Hollins capable of solving the macabre puzzle of the children’s disappearance? What part does the widowed mother, Maudy Jiller, have to play in an investigation exposing the hypocrisy at the heart of the social and moral values of Victorian England? As disturbing as it is engaging, Bonecreake: The Strange Tale of Maudy Jiller is every parent’s fear, and every mother’s nightmare.