Author: Val McDermid
Series: Inspector Karen Pirie #1
Book description: It was a winter morning in 1978, that the body of a young barmaid was discovered in the snow banks of a Scottish cemetery. The only suspects in her brutal murder were the four young men who found her: Alex Gilbey and his three best friends. With no evidence but her blood on their hands, no one was ever charged.
Twenty five years later, the Cold Case file on Rosie Duff has been reopened. The investigation has also opened old wounds for Alex and his friends, haunting memories and new fears. For a stranger has emerged from the shadows with his own ideas about justice. And revenge.
When two of Alex's friends die under suspicious circumstances, Alex knows that he and his innocent family are the next targets. And there's only way to save them: return to the cold-blooded past and uncover the startling truth about the murder. For there lies the identity of an avenging killer.
What did I think about it?
This book was picked up by mistake. I was at work and finished my audiobook then I was trying to find something else to listen to. I could only remember 2 books on my TBR, I know, my TBR list is huge but still the few books I could remember were not available. This book was mentioned in the latest published works and it was available. So I know nothing about it other than the fact that it was a mystery/thriller centered around a murder that took place 25 years prior. Murder-mystery that happened decades before is a very popular theme in thrillers ( in my opinion).
It starts off with 4 university students, average really not overly popular or wealthy; they met in high school and have been close for a few years. Alex, Mundo, Weird and Zing they are the 4 musketeers one for all and all for one.
On a trip back from a night out, right before the Christmas break so what are university students to do in the days right before they leave for their homes? They go out and on their way back they stumble upon a girl Rosie, hurt and bleeding. They are in the middle of a blizzard and drunkenly show, up trying to get help from the only police car in the area- initially the cop is unsure if the young man is drunk or high - or just playing a prank. Once the first policeman arrives at the site, Rosie is beyond help.
The four young men are shaken but they keep their cool heads, especially the young med student who tried to keep the woman from bleeding out. They are questioned, but they go from witnesses to suspects in the mind of most police personnel, and worse- their "involvement" is leaked to the town. People in the town, especially the girl's family needs no proof they assume the four students are the culprits and wants blood. The police try to investigate but they have very little to go on.
McDemid touches on a very interesting aspect- the effect of false blame. I mean that in the way that people love to point to the bad guys- society is always quick to pass judgment. The whole town assumes they are guilty but the police just couldn't find out the proof. After the public makes pins the fault on the young lads, they face different struggles and their way of facing it starts to show a few cracks in their friendships.
It picks up a few years later- 25 year- everyone has moved on with their lives and want nothing more than to ignore the memories of what happened and the persecution they suffered. The detail I like in this storytelling style is that we follow both storylines, not only convenient flashbacks. We have one chapter set in the past, then back to the present in the next chapter.
The story is fast-paced and easy to read. Because you are having mysteries ion both timelines - you just can't put the book down.
This book was a look at how police procedure can hinder where it should help, when the people carrying out the investigation develop their theories and stick to their ideas. It told the story from the police and from the other characters point of view, giving us a more rounded-up story, as you are in the head and see the reasons of why the different characters take decisions and actions. I think this adds a lot more flavor than just having it be about the cops, it made it feel realistic.
This book was used as part of several challenges.
In StoryGraph I joined a new challenge- January Pages Challenge 2023 https://app.thestorygraph.com/january_pages_challenges/3ee9885d-775f-4eb5-84eb-82d8063044f4 It's a month-long challenge. The goal is simple: read at least a page, or listen to at least one minute of your audiobook, each dayin January and track it on The StoryGraph.
For Rapid Readers Annual Readathon 2023 for prompt # 23 - Audiobook.
A to Z Challenge titles and Authors
Again we're starting strong, I hope to be finishing a book a day. We'll see how long we can keep it up, especially with you know work, other responsibilities, and appointments coming into the picture. responsibilities.
Comments