Gemma O'Connor is first and foremost a first-rate story-teller of the old school. Character delineation, dialogue and scene setting are all expertly attended to, but it is the tilt and sway of the storyline that is all important. In her new novel, set on the south-west coast of Ireland, she is concerned with the murder of an American woman named Evangeline Walter, found one pristine spring morning by the old sailor, John Spain. Two CID men are sent from Cork to work on the case, but it is Garda Sgt Francis Recaldo, with his local knowledge of the area, who will eventually solve the case. Recaldo, of course, has skeletons of his own jostling about in the closet, not the least of them being his affair with the wife of a businessman. As the plot unfolds it becomes clear that the parentage of the strange and troubled young girl named Halcyon, cared for in the local convent, may well hold the key to the mystery. O'Connor builds the suspense most skilfully until the final resolution out on the stormy sea. Walking on Water is a exciting page-turner and can be highly recommended.