Greg Buchanan’s first novel Sixteen Horses was a huge success, and I have a copy sitting on one of my many bookshelves. Consumed is the sequel and has the same central character of Dr Cooper Allen, a forensic veterinarian, a job I had never heard of before this book. Cooper finds herself in the quaint town of Lethwick for a weekend with her mother and sister. But on her first night she is called by the police to do an autopsy on two pigs who have eaten their owner, renowned photographer Sophia Bertilak. Cooper finds herself pulled into the mystery of Sophia’s death, and the mystery of two missing children over fifty years ago. The timeline is split and starts in 1964 with Sophie’s story at seventeen and up to the present day and the investigation of her death and Cooper’s story. Consumed is such a wonderful and fitting title for this book; not only is Sophie (her prefered name) consumed by her pigs, Cooper is consumed by the investigation, and Sophie spent her life wanting to find out what happened to those girls whose photo she took at seventeen. The writing of this book is sublime, the short staccato chapters giving only as much information as needed, the inclusion of e-mails and reports, and the many red herrings make this such a gripping read. Greg Buchanan also has a mystery within a mystery within a mystery; the death of Sophie, the mystery of Stephanie Earlsham, the buried child and the death of a police officer soon after. This book has so many layers and threads which had me engaged and immersed in this story, so much so it was hard to put the book down. My brain was working overtime to try and keep up with what was happening and how it was all going to come together. The tension was kept throughout, and you didn’t know which characters to trust and who had there own agenda. I haven’t read Sixteen Horses yet so Dr Cooper Allen was a new character to me. I found her a fascinating but flawed character which added interest to the plot of the book. Obviously I don’t know how much information about her from Sixteen Horses but in Consumed she is distant from her mother and sister, to the extent that being part of the investigation is more appealing than spending time with them. She was a complex character, seeming lost in parts, adrift from her life, but being drawn into Sophie’s story gives her more of a purpose that becomes almost an obsession that sees her her cross the lines of her perimeters in her investigation. Sophie’s story was intriguing, capturing an image of a child buried alive and a missing teenager that will always be her most famous work and influences her choice to be a war photographer, capturing death. There are a host of compelling characters, many flawed and many keeping secrets that are intricate part to this complex thriller. Consumed is one of the best thrillers I have read in a long time. I loved everything about it, the writing style, the complex and multi faceted plot, the flawed characters and the the mystery within a mystery. Full of suspense, this is a thrilling and engaing read that had me consumed (sorry for the pun). I can’t recommend this book highly enough !!

Greg Buchanan’s writing oozes a sense of dreadful inevitability. The mystery draws you in, and the bleak, often scary atmosphere holds you in the narrative. Special note should be given to his attention to detail and richness of backstory for our hero, Cooper. She feels well rounded and someone who you want to know more about. I loved this take on the detective genre, working through animals to see the horrors of humanity. And Cooper is the perfect guide through these traumas. It’s been a while since I devoured (or consumed, hehehe) a book so quickly. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Cooper.

The book is written in the third person and opens in 1964. The timeline moves between past and present and mainly focuses on the two main characters, Sophia, the photographer, and Cooper, the forensic veterinarian. The chapters are variable in length and interwoven with the narrative are emails, podcast transcripts and other snippets of information. Initially I found the format a little distracting, but I soon fell into the rhythm of it and felt that it reflected the mental state of the protagonists. The characters are flawed and well formed, and whilst not necessarily likeable I was invested in their stories. The book keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing right until the end. There are twists and turns and layers of intrigue, mystery and detail. It really makes you think and you need to give it your full attention! There are some dark themes addressed in the book including murder, child death, kidnap, stalking, drug use, and much more. Family dynamics and relationships are explored really well. The descriptive writing is very well executed and there are some really compelling paragraphs, with excellent scene setting and character development. I loved the way the author captures the essence of the landscape and the buildings. I could really imagine Sophia’s house, the basement and the woods. The author has done a fantastic job of creating a well paced, tightly woven narrative with intricate backstories and the right level of tension. I still have questions and may need to read it again! It was a real page turner and I was really keen to carry on reading even when I was too tired. I enjoyed the way the story played out and I liked the ending. This is an intelligent thriller with an unusual plot, dark and unsettling vibes and an interesting story arc. Highly recommended!

“After a while, Sophie came across a piece of pipe, stuck down in the half-ashen soil. It was a grey plastic cylinder. It did not appear to have been here for very long, …. She held her camera over the pipe. The silver metal of her device shone in the final hour of sunlight. She took a photograph of the pipe from above, a bird’s eye view just as a cloud drifted overhead….” My thanks to Orion Publishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Consumed’ by Greg Buchanan. While Buchanan’s second novel works fine as a standalone, it does feature forensic veterinarian, Cooper Allen, who had appeared in his 2021 debut novel, ‘Sixteen Horses’. In ‘Consumed’ Cooper is in the rural town of Lethwick on a break ahead of a family reunion. She is asked by the local police to perform a necropsy on two pet pigs after their 70-year-old owner had fallen and overnight had met the end that the title indicates. At first it is assumed to be a tragic accident, except for the fact that Sophia Bertilak had been a well-known photographer and it appears that someone has removed all of her photos from their frames. Cooper Allen slowly becomes obsessed with the victim, her family, and the crimes that she had brought to light decades ago. Central to these were two photographs that seventeen-year-old Sophia had taken with her first camera during a foray into the woods. These photos gained her wide recognition and effectively launched her career. No further details to avoid spoilers. There was a chilling undercurrent to the narrative that borders on folk horror. The quotes that headed the novel’s parts set the mood. There were also allusions to Robert W. Chambers classic tale, ‘The King in Yellow’, and the cursed city of Carcosa. These literary references gave me a delicious shiver of recognition that within these pages we were embarking into eldritch territory. Buchanan moved smoothly between the present and past, slowly building up the story of Cooper’s and Sophia’s lives. The narrative does demand a close reading and I expect that I will reread it in the future in order to appreciate its symbolism and multiple layers. Overall, I was very impressed with ‘Consumed’. Greg Buchanan’s writing is rich and descriptive and I quickly found myself completely immersed. I felt that it was an intelligent Gothic literary thriller. Highly recommended. 


Well... this got the juices flowing right from the off - an old lady falls down and gets eaten by her pigs. On face value, it appears to have just been an accident, albeit a nasty shocking one. But really nothing to get all het up about. Until, on further inspection, her house appears to have been stripped of all her photos from their frames. Photos she herself, as a world-famous, well respected photographer. So they call in forensic veterinarian Cooper Allen to assist. But she starts to overstep as she gets more and more embroiled in the life of the deceased. One Sophia Bertilak, whose first ever batch of photos contained one of a missing girl, with another that was even more shocking... Well... I have to say that no one does overstepping like Cooper. Boy does she go when she gets her teeth into things. Getting the police to join in with her ways of thinking is indeed another thing entirely! This is my first book starring a forensic vet and some of the things she describes that she has done were quite fascinating and I am definitely going to delve into that field a little more. It was also a refreshing change as it added a whole different spin on the case in question, coming from that side of things. I did find that the story did lose its way a tad in the middle third but once it got going again it was cracking all the way to the shocking end. That said, pacing did follow the narrative and I guess quite a lot has to be delivered as a slow burn to follow the nature of the investigation. Characters were well described and developed and all played their parts well. Some were more easy to connect to than others but I connected to Cooper well from the start so that helped. All in all, a good solid read that I definitely enjoyed. I have Sixteen Horses on both my watch and read list (there's a TV adaptation) This also features Cooper Allen so I guess I best get reading it!